A teenage boy who held a knife to a staff member’s throat during a robbery and stole drugs from multiple chemists in Hobart will not have the incidents recorded on his criminal record.
The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including armed robbery, assault and attempted stealing.
Justice Stephen Estcourt told the Supreme Court the boy, referred to as HJR, targeted the American Convenience Store on Liverpool Street twice within 15 minutes in October last year.
In the first incident, he held a knife across the staff member’s throat and demanded ‘nangs’, or nitrous oxide canisters, from another employee.
He ran off with five cartons of cigarettes and a carton of canisters, leaving the two staff members working at the time uninjured but “extremely fearful”.
HJR then attempted to steal a phone charger cord from Woolworths in Wellington Court 20 minutes later but was stopped by a staff member.
He also robbed a Blackmans Bay pharmacy while armed with a hammer in March this year, stealing prescription drugs Anatex and Valpam.
The following day, he threatened a staff member at Chemist Warehouse North Hobart with a box cutter and stole Valium, Vaipam and Tramadol.
The court heard HJR lives with his mother when he is in the community and they share a “close and supportive relationship”.
“It is believed that his [drug] addiction, mental health issues and antisocial peer group have all had an influence on HJR’s offending behaviour,” Justice Estcourt said.
“Inclusive of the offending currently for sentence, I am told that his record of prior matters is reflective of an extremely turbulent period of his life between October 2023 and March 2024.”
“He has spent 79 days in custody in respect of the present offending and I take that into account.”
Justice Estcourt imposed a two-year probation order without recording convictions and ordered HJR to pay two compensation orders.
