Three men will face sentencing hearings later this year over a series of ram-raids at Lake Macquarie and on the Central Coast, during which they cut through the wall of one service station to steal a safe before using a ute at another business in a failed attempt to pull an ATM cash machine loose.
Ryan Bradley Conn, Luke Mundine and Mathew Harris were arrested and charged over the spree, which took place in the early hours of March 3 2020.
Conn and Mundine were due to face sentencing hearings in Newcastle District Court on Tuesday, but Judge Tim Gartelmann, SC, adjourned both matters to September 24 to allow for a psychiatric report to be prepared on behalf of Mundine.
Harris, who was due to face a sentencing hearing next week, also had his matter adjourned to the same date.
The court heard that Conn wished for his matter to be dealt with as soon as possible, but Judge Gartelmann said it was better to have the cases sentenced on the same day in order for fairness and "parity".
According to a statement of facts tendered to the court in relation to Conn's charges, the trio had travelled from Cessnock to the Central Coast when they hit their first target about 3.20am, using a stolen Toyota Hilux and two small trucks - one taken from a carpark at West Gosford that night.
When they arrived at the United Service Station on the corner of Summerhayes Road and Main Road at Wyee, one of the trucks was driven into the building, knocking down part of the roof fascia.
They left the scene and arrived at Starlight Power Service Station on Wyee Road about five minutes later, where one of Conn's co-accused broke through a lock on the bathroom door and then cut through a plaster wall - taking the three bandits into the premises through a cupboard behind the counter.
CCTV footage recorded on the night showed that Mundine had an angle grinder while Conn pulled a safe from the cigarette cabinet and carried it through the store, tripping the alarm.
According to the statement of facts, they made off with 600 packets of cigarettes and tobacco as well as the safe and a laptop.
They then drove to Bottlemart at Blackalls Park, where straps were attached to the Hilux that Conn was driving so he could pull a metal frame from the building.
The group left the scene and then went to LakeMac Petroleum, on Main Road at Fennell Bay, where Conn reversed the Hilux through the front window of the store.
One of his co-accused connected the vehicle to an ATM inside using a strap so the ute could be used to rip the machine free.
The attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, the statement of facts said. The ute knocked a bollard into a petrol tank before the group fled. Police found the Hilux dumped in bushland at Kearsley a few days after the crime spree.
A range of charges was leveled at the trio over the early morning ram-raids, including two counts each of aggravated break and enter and theft in company of a value equal to or less than $60,000. Among the counts, Conn and Harris were also charged with entering a building with intent to commit an indictable offence. Mundine was also charged with two counts each of stealing a vehicle and driving a stolen vehicle.
