Jailed robber ‘failed by courts’

A KNIFE-wielding robber who held up his GP only hours after being placed on probation had been failed by the courts, a Cairns judge has declared.

Matthew James Pollard walked from court on November 6 last year and into his GP’s office in North Cairns hoping for the tranquilliser Clonazepam.

When the doctor refused, a frustrated Pollard left but returned two hours later armed with a knife. Brandishing a switchblade, Pollard, then 38, threatened to kill the doctor if he did not write the script.

“He said he would return the following day and hurt the complainant’s family if he did not write the script,” Matthew Sutton said, representing the crown.

Faced with a threat to his loved ones, the doctor wrote the script but later called police.

Officers intercepted Pollard – still armed and carrying Clonazepam.

The court heard Pollard had been placed on probation earlier that day for breaching bail, possessing meth and possessing a weapon.

James Sheridan, defending, said Pollard had armed himself due to the hazards of associating with meth dealers.

“He is a drug addict – when he buys for personal use, they are not savoury people he deals with,” Mr Sheridan said.

Sentencing became a discussion about the court’s failures to deal with Pollard, who was “in the grip” of addiction in November, and had been in custody since the robbery.

Judge Dean Morzone said parole without further supervision would be “setting him up to fail again”.

“It is clear that what has been handed out in the past has been inadequate,” he said.

Pollard pleaded guilty to armed robbery, possessing a category M weapon and a scheduled drug. Judge Morzone sentenced him to four years in jail and reactivated a ninemonth suspended sentence. Pollard is now eligible for parole.