Syringe to rob servo Debt drives opportunist
A MAN who robbed a Townsville service station at needlepoint only stole half the money he needed to pay back his drug dealer.
Khai Adlard, 29, was walking along Nathan Street on April 30 this year just after 9pm when he decided to rob Coles Express Aitkenvale.
The Townsville District Court heard Adlard wrapped his black shirt around his neck and face before entering the store.
Crown prosecutor Josh Francis told Judge Julie Dick SC that as the service station attendant turned to grab a pack of cigarettes, Adlard pulled out a syringe from his back pocket.
“He said, ‘ Give me your money out of the till’ and he left the store with iced coffee, cigarettes, lighters and $278 worth of cash,” he said. “After he obtained the cash he threatened the attendant by saying: ‘If you call the cops I will come back and stab you.’”
Mr Francis said police located Adlard 20 minutes later at Stockland Shopping Centre.
Adlard also stole $170.60 worth of fuel on January 21 and was found in possession of 0.1g of methamphetamine and 1g of cannabis on April 13, the court heard.
Adlard pleaded guilty to seven charges including robbery.
Defence barrister Rowan Pack said his client started using drugs at 14 and had consumed vodka and ice before the robbery.
“He had a drug debt of $500 and he had been threatened by his drug dealer that if he didn’t pay up he would be harmed physically and he had no money to pay the debt,” he said.
“He was simply walking past the service station, was not thinking clearly because he was intoxicated … and he saw it as an opportunity to get some quick cash.”
Judge Dick told Adlard the robbery was an “opportunistic offence” and “unsophisticated”.
“The courts recognise the use and the threat of a syringe as a special fear for people and that goes back, of course, to HIV and AIDS,” she said.
After declaring the 153 days spent in pre-sentence custody as time served, Judge Dick sentenced Adlard to three years’ jail. He is eligible for parole on December 30 this year.