A Koonawarra teen jailed for the attempted robbery of a man at knifepoint last year "wanted to be a gangster", a court has heard.
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Mason Evans, 19, was on parole and affected by drugs when he brandished a 20-centimetre knife at the man and his friend and demanded one hand over his wallet near the Dapto Leagues Club just before 1.30am on July 14.
The friends fled from Evans and returned to the club to alert security. Evans was identified on CCTV footage from the club and arrested a short time later.
On Thursday, Sutherland District Court heard Evans had been raised in a loving, supportive family but, by his own admission, had been "an idiot" as a young teen and took advantage of their generosity.
He left school in year 9 after being kicked out of Edmund Rice College and became involved in the wrong crowd, first in a local gang, then in a bikie club.
"I wanted to be gangster, it was cool," he told a Community Corrections officer in describing his attitude to life in recent years.
However, the court heard Evans had left the bikie gang since being locked up, leading to him being placed in protective custody, and wanted to get his life back on track.
Judge Paul Conlon sentenced Evans to 30 months in prison, with a non-parole period of 15 months.
He ordered that Evans be strictly supervised by Community Corrections staff upon his release in March 2016.