A teenage boy who threatened a Hobart store attendant with a glass bottle during an attempted robbery has received a suspended detention sentence.
The then-16-year-old, identified only as KJS for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to charges of attempted aggravated armed robbery and aggravated armed robbery at the American Convenience Store on Liverpool Street.
The Supreme Court heard that on November 12, 2023, KJS and three accomplices planned the robbery and entered the store, menacing the attendant while demanding cash and cigarettes.
When the attendant refused and told them to leave, KJS threw a glass bottle at him, striking him in the face.
Around 20 minutes later, the group returned to the store, the group returned, this time more heavily armed.
KJS wielded a large kitchen knife, another carried a spanner, one had a ball-peen hammer and the fourth carried a metal rod.
“He thrusted the knife towards the store attendant and another accused hit the store attendant over the counter with the metal rod twice to the upper body/arm area,” Justice Stephen Estcourt said.
“The four were shouting threats at the store attendant, saying that they were going to kill him, hurt him and damage him.”
The group left only after the attendant handed over approximately $600 in cash and 15-20 packets of cigarettes.
As they exited, one of the accused destroyed the point-of-sale machine with a hammer.
Justice Estcourt sentenced KJS to eight months in detention, fully suspended for 12 months, adding to his list of previous offences including “a number of stealing matters” and a conviction for attempted robbery and armed robbery.
“These are very serious crimes which were planned and executed against vulnerable business premises. If committed by an adult they would likely attract a prison sentence of between two to five years,” he said.
Since the incident, KJS has been working to improve his life under the care of his foster parents.
He has quit drugs, obtained a learner’s driver’s licence and set goals to work and play state representative basketball.
