A 19-year-old man was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, partly suspended, for the attempted armed robbery of a Launceston takeaway store in June last year.
David James Oakley was yesterday sentenced in the Launceston Supreme Court for attempting to rob Pizzakom in Charles Street and torching a stolen getaway car at Blackstone Heights in the early hours of June 23.
But the remorse shown by the former George Town man, as well as an early guilty plea to the charges of aggravated armed robbery and unlawfully setting fire to property, prevented him from a lengthier jail term.
In sentencing Oakley, Chief Justice Ewan Crawford said Oakley had given police the impression he was genuinely relieved to tell them what he had done, despite not showing empathy for his victims.
``Without remorse and other mitigating factors the sentence would be imprisonment for at least 2 1/2 years,'' Mr Crawford said.
Mr Crawford also remarked on the unusual nature of Oakley's confession, who fronted police three times before his involvement in the crime was believed.
Oakley's imprisonment was backdated to his arrest on June 29, and the final six months of his sentence were suspended.
He will be eligible for parole on June 29.