Drug Addict Waited Quietly In Queue To Rob Building Society
Newcastle Herald
Friday November 15, 2002
A HEROIN addict intent on robbery queued at a bank and two building societies before going through with his quietly mannered plan at a second bank, police said yesterday.
But a teller at this bank, the Westpac at Wallsend Plaza, feared Shaun Anthony Ferreira had a gun and activated the security screen.
A statement before Newcastle District Court said Ferreira left the bank empty handed and, about an hour later, entered the Newcastle Permanent Building Society in Adamstown.
After joining the queue, Ferreira handed a teller a note saying: `I have a gun; put all the money in the bag quietly'.
Fearing Ferreira was armed, the teller handed over $1260.
Det Sen Constable David Anson said in a tendered statement that police arrested Ferreira soon afterwards and recovered all but $100, which was spent on drugs.
Ferreira, 22, unemployed, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to having committed an attempted robbery and a robbery on July 30.
Ferreira, who has been in custody since July 30, gave evidence yesterday that he began using heroin when he was about 18 and quickly became addicted.
He had been in jail for six or seven months in both 2000 and 2001.
Ferreira, who asked that eight other offences be taken into account on sentence, will be sentenced on November 26.
© 2002 Newcastle Herald
Share This