A robber who urged his armed accomplice to "pull the trigger" on shop assistants was jailed for four years yesterday.Michael Medarovski, 32, appeared for sentence in Wollongong District Court after pleading guilty to two counts of armed robbery at a Shellharbour pizza store and an Albion Park hairdressing salon.He accompanied gunman Marc Stephen Richardson on the robberies in which staff were menaced by Richardson, who brandished a shotgun before they made off with money.At Shellharbour Pizza Hut on May 9, CCTV security cameras captured Medarovski urging Richardson to "pull the trigger, pull the trigger".Judge Paul Conlon accepted Medarovski was under the impression the gun was not loaded and that his call for Richardson to use the gun was out of frustration to get the employees to hurry up.The court heard the robbery at Who Me Hair and Beauty Salon on May 14 also involved terrorising six customers. Judge Conlon said there was never an excuse for inflicting lasting psychological trauma on individuals.However, he said he accepted Richardson was the driving force behind the robberies and that Medarovski's sole motive was to feed his drug habit. The court heard Medarovski started using methamphetamine (crystal meth) in 2007 and it developed into an addiction.Judge Conlon said he had extended as much leniency as possible because he believed Medarovski, the father of an eight-week-old baby, had prospects of rehabilitation. He will be eligible for parole in May 2011.Richardson was sentenced to eight years' jail with five years' non-parole for four robberies.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading