A glamorous Wollongong influencer has confessed to driving the get-away car during a botched robbery at a Port Kembla service station.
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Tenesha Krause flaunts a lavish, jet-setting lifestyle on Instagram, regularly posting pictures of herself decked out in designer clothes, with Barbie doll hair and flawless makeup, to her 18,000 followers.
However, the 23-year-old shied away from the camera this week, shielding her face from view as she attempted to make a low-key exit from Wollongong courthouse late Wednesday afternoon.
Krause dressed down for court, without the embellishments she dons for social media, wearing simple pin-striped pants and a satin shoe-string singlet.
The mother-of-two pleaded guilty to a single charge of assault with intent to rob, admitting she drove the get-away car for her knife-wielding co-accused, a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court reveal Krause and her young accomplice drove to the location in a blue BMW, parking on nearby Sixth Avenue just before 7.30pm on June 22 last year.
The teen got out of the vehicle and walked towards the South Petrol Station, wearing a light grey tracksuit.
He waited until all customers had left the service station before entering and pulling out a 20cm knife from under his jacket.
The teen demanded cash from the husband and wife owners of the service station, brandishing the knife and yelling "give me all the money".
The male owner yelled, "you bastard, get out of here," before jumping the front counter.
The female owner grabbed a nearby baseball bat for protection.
The petrified teen fled the store empty-handed, chased out by one of the owners.
Later that night, patrolling police spotted the BMW travelling on Windang Road and recognised it from the service station's CCTV footage.
Police said when they pulled the car over, Krause's hands and legs were shaking and she appeared nervous. They said she did not voluntarily remove her sunglasses.
Both she and the teen were removed from the vehicle while police carried out a search. They uncovered the teen's discarded clothes and shoes as seen in the CCTV footage, and a knife that had been concealed between the front passenger door and front seat.
The pair was arrested, taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station and charged.
Police returned to search the BMW again on June 24 and found a black face mask and phone.
In court on Wednesday, defence lawyer Elizabeth Parkes described Krause as an "incredibly naive" young woman with a complex history.
Krause was also on a conditional release order for driving while suspended, after she was caught twice in six months. Ms Parkes said Krause plans to sell her car to remove any temptation.
Magistrate McRobert said the robbery was "a particularly frightening picture" but acknowledged that Krause was a young woman who had a great deal of disruption and trauma in her life.
This trauma has left her as person who doesn't consider the consequences of her behaviour, he said.
He was prepared to accept that she was a person who simply did not give thought to what was going on but should have asked more questions.
Since the attempted robbery, Krause has been living with her mother and two young children. She had a friend accompany her to court.
Considering her minimal record, Magistrate McRobert sentenced Krause to a 12-month intensive correction order, which she can serve in the community.
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