A double-murderer who hid in the walls of a pub for close to 14 hours after holding a woman captive during a terrifying siege at a Melbourne pub has been jailed.
John Lindrea, 59, was on Monday ordered by the County Court to spend 11-and-a-half years behind bars over the dramatic ordeal at the Westmeadows Tavern last year after pleading guilty to armed robbery, false imprisonment and a firearms offence.
He will have to spend at least eight years and nine months in prison before he is eligible for parole.
Lindrea was on the run for weeks after hiding in the walls of the tavern and waiting until everyone, including the police surrounding the pub, had left.
But investigators eventually caught up with the Greenvale man because he removed his balaclava and gloves during the violent incident, took a drink of Jack Daniels from the fridge, and looked directly at a security camera.
The episode was not Lindrea's first brush with the law.
In 1993, he was jailed for at least 20 years over the shooting murders of Kayleen McDonald and Andrew Johns, and for seriously injuring David James, at Kinglake.
Lindrea, who was armed with a handgun, had gatecrashed a housewarming party with a friend when he was asked to leave.
He then tried to fight one of the guests before wounding Mr James and then emptying his gun at partygoers.
Victim tells court her sense of safety was 'stripped away'
On Monday, Judge Daniel Holding said Lindrea's offending involved "significant" pre-meditation and planning.
He acknowledged the 59-year-old's extensive criminal record and difficult childhood.
"In many ways, you are a product of your upbringing," the judge said.
"You are institutionalised but unfortunately that leads me to the conclusion that your prospects of rehabilitation are bleak."
In a victim impact statement, Lindrea's victim, who cannot be named, detailed the terrifying incident.
"I walked into work, went to turn the light on and that's when my whole world changed. My sense of safety was stripped away," she said.
" My thoughts went from shock to the realisation that they will shoot me.
She said she was asked by the men whether she had children.
"I was already so petrified and you were making it even worse, making me think you would come for my family. I was shaking, crying and afraid," she said.
The court heard that she had been forced to resign from her job as assistant manager of the tavern, a position she had held for seven years.
"I don't sleep well, and when I do I have nightmares of that morning of your guns, your balaclavas and your eyes," she said.
Attacker hid in wall cavity for 14 hours as officers searched the pub
In March last year, Lindrea and an associate, wearing balaclavas and armed with sawn-off shotguns, broke into the Westmeadows Tavern through the roof.
They lay in wait for close to two hours before confronting the tavern's assistant manager, who started her shift shortly before 5:00am.
The pair forced the woman to open tills, safes and ATMs before locking her in a kitchen cupboard and using a knife sharpener to hold the door closed.
A green canvas bag with $176,820 in cash was later found by police at the scene.
During the ordeal, a shotgun was held just 15 centimetres from the woman's face.
Police were alerted to the incident after a cleaner, who was also starting his shift, noticed Lindrea's associate holding a gun.
As police surrounded the pub, the men re-entered the ceiling and hid in a wall cavity for 14 hours until everyone had left the venue.
It took 25 officers about four hours to search the building, but they were unable to find the men.
After everyone had left, the pair then kicked out the partition and jumped out of the wall.
Investigators later found Lindrea's shoe in the roof cavity and two shotguns in the kitchen's exhaust fan ducts.
Forensic analysis of other items found in the building including a balaclava, a Jack Daniels bottle lid and the bag of cash, later showed a strong DNA link to Lindrea.
Lindrea refused to officially answer police questions but between interviews, he told investigators about secreting himself in the walls of the pub until about 7:00pm.
He also told police that the guns and clothing were "long gone" and he was worried about his face being on the security tape.
He refused to identify his accomplice.
