A GRETA man is facing years of jail time after his high-stakes gamble in attempting to rob a service station armed with a knife failed to pay off.
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Jamie John Timmins, 32, pleaded guilty in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday to the botched July 5 robbery, where he fled empty-handed after being scared away by the manager of the Greta BP service station, who chased after him and recorded the registration details his ute.
According to a statement of agreed facts tendered to court, Timmins had been drinking alcohol and playing the pokies at two nearby clubs prior to the robbery.
He had also taken methamphetamine.
Shortly before 8pm, the 32-year-old returned to his father’s Greta home, where he had been staying, and made up his mind that he was going to commit a robbery.
He changed clothes and made a makeshift balaclava from a black shirt.
And he armed himself with a kitchen knife.
Timmins grabbed the keys to his father’s Holden Rodeo ute and scoured the town in search of a place to rob before, finally, settling on the service station.
The facts state Timmins parked the ute at the back of the servo about 8.30pm before donning his makeshift balaclava. He pulled the hoodie of his black jumper over his head and hid the knife up his sleeve.
Timmins entered through the store’s front door and beelined for the counter. He then walked through a security door and demanded money from the till.
The service station attendant questioned Timmins about what he was doing before the “protruding” blade caught his eye.
The attendant backed away, but the service station manager, who was sitting in the back office, “yelled out” after hearing the commotion.
Timmins, who was surprised to hear the second employee, ran out of the store empty-handed.
The manager followed him and used his own car to drive to the back of the servo where he shined the car’s headlights into the still-parked ute.
Timmins was sitting in the front seat.
The facts state he “ran into the bush” before returning to the ute and dumping it at the corner of Water and Little Park streets – just a few streets away from his house.
It didn’t take long for police to find the ute, or the knife, which was sitting on the front seat.
Police traced the registration details back to the house where Timmins was living.
Officers attended the house, but the lights were off and Timmins “ignored” them.
Timmins turned himself in to police the next day and admitted to the robbery.
He will be sentenced in Newcastle District Court on February 8.