A MEDOWIE man and his 14-year-old son used a sword and a baseball bat to threaten and assault terrified staff during a series of armed robberies and break-ins at Newcastle service stations and bottle shops during a five-week period in 2020.
The father and son, who cannot be identified because the boy is a juvenile, also recruited one of the 14-year-old's mates to assist in an armed robbery and a break-in before committing another robbery and attempting another two break-ins between May 22 and June 16, according to court documents.
The father, who is represented by barrister Isabel Reed, appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday via audio visual link from jail where he pleaded guilty to five offences. He will be sentenced in Newcastle District Court later in the year.
Meanwhile, his son pleaded guilty in December to a series of armed robberies and break-ins.
The 14-year-old, who remains behind bars, will be sentenced in Children's Court later this month.
The crime spree started in the early hours of May 22 last year when the man, his son and his son's mate smashed their way into a shopping centre at Elermore Vale.
The trio - who had black face coverings and gloves on - then ran directly to the IGA Liquor store and forced their way in by dislodging a locked roller door.
The three then started going through the cash registers and chucking bottles of alcohol into a shopping basket. They couldn't find any cash but stole nine bottles of spirits. Less than half-an-hour later, the trio arrived at a Sandgate service station. The father waited outside the store to keep watch while his son and the other boy - who were armed with a sword and a baseball bat - ran inside and threatened the employee behind the counter.
They smashed things and jumped the counter, stealing $1200. Four nights later, the father and son held-up another service station at Williamtown. This time the father went inside and stood guard over a terrified staff member, repeatedly hitting him in the shoulder with a bat and saying: "Give me the money. Give me the money".
As this was happening, a customer walked into the service station and saw the employee cowering behind the counter. The father saw the customer and began chasing him around with the bat, yelling "I'm going to f---ing shoot you." The father and son fled with more than $1000. The father and son later tried to break into the BWS at Medowie on June 10 and 16, but were unsuccessful.
Before their arrest, the boy was heard on the phone speaking in pig Latin to his father saying they needed to get rid of anything linking them to the robberies.
Kinda need to etgay [get] idray [rid] ofray [of] everingshay [everything].
The boy, 14, said, speaking over the phone in pig Latin.
