On path of ‘self-destruction’

A DECISION to take part in an armed hold-up at a milk bar in Burnie was part of a young man’s self-destructive downward slide following the death of his girlfriend and baby son in a car crash, a court has heard.

Andrew John Sheals and another man carried knives into the Acton Milk Bar in July and demanded money.

They were wearing bandannas and hoods over their faces.

The part owner of the milk bar — who had been robbed by others a few months before — grabbed a wooden rolling pin, banged it on the counter and said “f..k off you bastards, not again” and the two would-be thieves fled.

Police identified from CCTV footage.

Sheals, 20, was yesterday sentenced to 15 months jail for his part in the attempted armed burglary. He has been in custody since September and the balance of his prison term was suspended on the condition he be of good behaviour for two years.

Sheals will be on parole for 12 months following his release and do 120 hours of community service.

Justice Robert Pearce said Sheals’ self-destructive cycle followed him being ostracised from the community after the fatal car crash at Wynyard.

His infant son was killed at the scene and his 16-year-old girlfriend Hayley Best, the mother of the baby boy, died in hospital soon after the accident on the Bass Highway.

Sheals, a learner driver, failed to give way and pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent driving causing death. He was given a suspended jail sentence in the Burnie Supreme Court in September.

“Despite his own grief, he became ostracised by the community and suffered depression,” Justice Pearce said.

“His feelings of self-destruction led to his participation in the attempted alarmed burglary.”

The court was told Sheals accepted the need for treatment and therapy to get his life back on track. the pair