A look of stress has turned to visible relief for a man accused of stealing more than $117,000 in two armed robberies of the same club, as a jury acquitted him of all charges.
The verdicts late on Tuesday afternoon brought an end to a seven-day trial in the ACT Supreme Court.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that the accused, whose name cannot be published for legal reasons, was one of two men who targeted the Raiders club in Weston twice in the space of nine months.
The court heard that in the first robbery, a duo wearing balaclavas ran at a club supervisor brandishing a tomahawk and a garden saw shortly after the club had closed in the early hours of May 14, 2017.
The supervisor, who said he was "freaking out", ushered the robbers inside and they took about $12,000 from a safe.
On February 6, 2018, two men alleged to be the same pair followed the supervisor home from work and impersonated police to get him to pull over.
They then drove the supervisor back to the club in his car, and stole more than $105,000 from a safe, poker machines and ATMs.
One of the men allegedly told the club supervisor he had a gun.
The key issue for the jury was not whether the robberies had occurred, but if the accused was one of the offenders.
He was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of driving a stolen car, and one count each of forcibly confining the club supervisor, impersonating a police officer and stealing a car.
After more than a day of deliberations, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all counts.
The accused sat in the dock and appeared to be stressed before jurors entered the courtroom to reveal their decisions.
He bowed his head moments before learning his fate, but lifted his gaze and grew visibly more relieved each time the jury forewoman read out a not guilty verdict.
