A worker confronted by an armed robber inside an Illawarra service station last year managed to hold her attacker at bay with a piece of wood, a packet of cigarettes and a fearless attitude, a court has heard.
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Daniel Ilic, 28, had no doubt been hoping for an easy score when he walked into the Metro Petroleum Service Station at Warilla on the afternoon of February 20, 2018 and found a 69-year-old woman working behind the counter.
Carrying a 47cm timber stake in his right hand, Ilic jumped on the front counter, raised the weapon above his head and shouted "open the till, I don't want to hurt you".
But Ilic copped more than he bargained for when the gutsy granny replied "no, I'm not doing that" and picked up a wooden stick sitting next to her.
She tried to hit Ilic with it but he managed to grab it out of her hands.
Ilic said "give me some cigarettes then", but the woman remained steadfast in hr refusal, telling him "you're not getting anything".
She eventually threw her own cigarettes in Ilic's direction.
Meanwhile, Illic, still standing on the counter, hit the computer screen with one of the wooden stakes before running from the store with the woman's cigarettes and some chocolate bars he swiped on the way out.
Police units arrived a short time later.
The entire incident was captured on CCTV footage and Ilic's DNA was found on the timber stakes however he denied carrying out the hold-up when arrested a few months later.
Ilic was charged with robbery armed with an offensive weapon, to which he pleaded guilty in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday.
He remains behind bars and will face a sentence hearing next month.