ARMED TEENS AMBUSH LARA MAN, COURT TOLD:

LARA MAN ATTACKED, COURT TOLD

A GROUP of armed youths ambushed a man at random as he walked home from Lara railway station late at night, a court has heard.

The victim had just left the station about 2am on July 28 this year when three teens pounced on him near Rennie St.

During the confrontation, the man was assaulted by the trio and had his mobile phone stolen.

A 15-year-old boy faced a children’s court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to charges including armed robbery.

A police prosecutor said the incident began when the victim heard people yelling out to him, asking if he had any valuables or money.

After choosing to ignore the youths, the man heard one of the group shout: “If you keep walking and ignoring us, we’re going to shiv you.”

One of the youths was armed with a lump of wood — described in court as similar to a baseball bat — when they confronted the man and demanded he hand over his phone.

The victim agreed but was allowed time to erase personal data from his phone, however, tension erupted when one of the attackers claimed the man was taking too long.

The court heard one of the group held the victim while the others — including the 15year-old — threw punches at him.

The phone was taken but the robbers soon realised it was redundant because they could not access it without a pin code.

Determined to walk away with something, the trio then demanded the man accompany them to an ATM to withdraw money, however he told them he had nothing in his account.

Frustrated by the situation, one of the youths returned the phone to the victim before telling him: “Take this as your lucky day.”

The victim required treatment for an injury to his wrist, while the youths were arrested later that day.

A lawyer for the 15-year-old told the court his client played a “lesser” role than his two accomplices.

He said the boy had been in bed on the night of the incident when one of the others encouraged him to join them for an outing.

The teenager’s father was in court to support his son.

The lawyer said the boy had never been in trouble with the law before the incident and that he was remorseful.

The teen will return to court in January.

One of the other teens was previously sentenced to a youth control order for his role in the incident, while an 18year-old will face court in November.