THE architect of an armed robbery on Warrnambool's Hungry Jack's restaurant was yesterday jailed for three years and nine months.
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Benjamin Robert Jeffery, 24, of Ilex Avenue, pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool County Court on Thursday to armed robbery, recklessly causing injury, attempting to pervert the course of justice and cultivating cannabis.
Yesterday Judge Mark Taft ordered to spend at least two years and three months in jail before being eligible for parole.
Jeffery has already served 186 days in custody and will spend a minimum 21 months in jail before being released.
Judge Taft said Jeffery had used his knowledge gained as a former Hungry Jack's employee to plan the robbery, an employee had been terrified and the offenders were armed with large knives and disguised.
The judge also congratulated the lead detective on the case, Senior Constable Gary Greene, and his colleagues at the Warrnambool police Criminal Investigation Unit, for outstanding work on Operation Fillet which led to the arrested and successful prosecution of Jeffery and his co-offender Daniel Wooster.
In March this year Wooster was sentenced to serve 18 months in a youth justice centre.
The court heard that Jeffery was the ringleader in a terrifying armed robbery committed on November 29, 2009.
Jeffery and Wooster went to Hungry Jack's about 4.30am disguised and armed with large knives, but workers had already arrived and they called off a planned robbery.
The next day they returned at 4am, again disguised and armed, and when an employee arrived to unlock the property he was confronted.
The employee was told to quickly turn off the alarm before Jeffery pushed a knife into the man's back and guided him to the safe.
About $2400 was loaded into a bag and the employee was struck to the head by Jeffery before the pair fled.
The blow caused a black eye, bruising and swelling.
The charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice involved Jeffery trying to convince his partner to say he was in bed with her on the morning of the armed robbery.
The cultivating cannabis charge came about after police found 10 almost mature plants at Jeffery's home when he was arrested. Another tenant was also charged and later fined $750 in court.
Judge Taft imposed the same fine for Jeffery yesterday.
He said mitigating factors included Jeffery's relatively early plea, his youth, his family supports, confined criminal history and his efforts at rehabilitation.
