Victims of a man who robbed three businesses in two days have spoken of the ongoing fear and anxiety they experience in the wake of the crimes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Michael Douglas Blow, 25, pleaded guilty in the County Court on Thursday to three counts of robbery and one count of possessing methamphetamine.
On February 3 this year, about 10pm, Blow entered a Golden Square petrol station, wearing a hooded jumper backwards so the hood covered his face, with eye holes cut out.
A 19-year-old staff member was in the shop marking stock, and upon seeing Blow tried to get behind the counter, but he followed her.
Blow demanded all the money from the till and grabbed about $200, before taking cigarettes as well.
He told the victim, "You don't know what I have on me".
He dropped some cigarettes and about $65 while fleeing.
The following afternoon, Blow entered a Rochester bank and threw a bag at a teller, demanding money.
He turned to another teller and demanded she open the safe, although she told him it was on a time delay and she did not have access.
The other teller placed $150 to $200 on the counter and told Blow that was all she had.
Blow took the money and left. He was again wearing a hooded jumper backwards.
That evening, Blow - wearing the same disguise - walked up to an 18-year-old employee at a Rochester petrol station, who was checking fuel levels outside, and told him to empty the till.
CCTV of the incident shows Blow pushing the victim towards the shop.
Once at the counter, Blow demanded the worker empty money into a bag or he would "shoot you in the head, I'll bop you in the head".
The victim opened the till, from which Blow took about $2000, before he ran and called triple zero.
While on the phone the victim then chased Blow, who dropped about $300 and a T-shirt with his name written on the inside.
When police arrested Blow the following day at his mother's house, they found him smoking what was believed to be methamphetamine.
A search of Blow uncovered $300 and three small bags of methamphetamine.
In a statement read to the court by Crown prosecutor Deanna Caruso, the victim of the first robbery described the ongoing depression and anxiety she suffered as a result.
She was left unable to work or leave the house for some time after the crime.
One of the tellers at the bank wrote that the robbery had also left her with anxiety and emotional trauma, which had affected her sleep and made her exhausted.
She said she did not like to leave her home any longer.
More court news: Bendigo worker jailed after seriously injuring man in crash
Blow's defence counsel Angus Cameron said a term of imprisonment was warranted, but he submitted imprisonment and a community corrections order was an appropriate sentence.
The crimes were not spontaneous, Mr Cameron said, but not sophisticated, and did not involve serious physical assault.
He said Blow was still a youthful offender, who had a disadvantaged background in which he witnessed and was victim to family violence.
The court heard Blow suffered significant mental illness, with multiple admissions to mental health services.
Mr Cameron said this was so severe Blow could not objectively consider the consequences of his behaviour, and it meant imprisonment would weigh more heavily on him than others.
Mr Cameron said his client engaged well with a community corrections order he received for armed robbery, but the death of his father in traumatic circumstances derailed his recovery and he began offending again.
The court heard a psychologist believed Blow might have also had an underlying cognitive impairment.
Mr Cameron said a community corrections order was "a highly flexible instrument that can be tailored to fit Mr Blow's circumstances".
The matter was adjourned for four weeks to obtain a neuropsychological report.