He has pie on his face

Repeat fast food bandit jailed

A FAST food bandit who once robbed “Maccas at Bridgie” has struck again — this time robbing Bridgewater Pie Face at knifepoint.

Caleb Anthony Paul Woods, 26, was found guilty of the October 2018 armed robbery by a jury unconvinced by his protestations of innocence, and claims he was framed for the crime by a woman buying a pie from the same store.

During the trial, the jury heard “Woodsy” burst in to the United Service Station, which also runs as a Pie Face franchise, with a white hoodie obscuring his face.

He then produced a knife, telling the attendant “this is a f.. king holdup” and demanding all the money from the till before fleeing the store.

The court also heard Woods said he was in the area that night but did not hold up the service station, stating the woman buying the pie “set him up”.

According to the prosecutor at the trial, Woods was found on the Jordan River Bridge that night with a screwdriver tucked in his belt, while police searching his home found a knife and a pair of shoes that seemed to match those seen in the shop’s CCTV footage.

Previously, Woods was jailed for two months in December 2014 after robbing Bridgewater McDonald’s, telling a 15- year- old attendant he wanted all the money from the cash registers.

He got away with $ 900 on that occasion, dropping some money as he fled but spending the rest on drugs and alcohol.

In his newly published sentence, Supreme Court of Tasmania judge Stephen Estcourt said Woods had an extremely low range of intellectual functioning, with an IQ about 58.

Justice Estcourt said Woods claimed to have a “raging habit” of illicit drug use and was spending about $ 1000 a day on substances in the days before his incarceration.

Woods’ mother said she believed his drug use was her son’s way of coping with having recently been shot with a firearm and the scarring he had from surgery required to save his life.

Justice Estcourt jailed Woods for three years, backdated to July for time served.

He will be eligible for parole after serving 18 months.