A TEENAGER who held up two Launceston businesses with a knife has been told to "give society a fair go and get a real life".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery last year while on bail.
Yesterday in the Launceston Supreme Court Chief Justice Ewan Crawford sentenced him to 18 months in the Ashley Detention Centre with the last six months to be suspended.
The youth was arrested after he robbed an Elizabeth Street therapy business and a Launceston video store over two days in November, netting $830 from the hold-ups.
Both times he pulled a knife in front of staff.
He fully admitted his guilt to police and quickly pleaded guilty, but the money stolen from the video store was recovered.
Justice Crawford said he had close to 130 offences on his record.
"He has rarely been out of Ashley Detention Centre in recent times and looks like living there and at Risdon for much of the rest of his life unless he decides to give society a fair go and get a real life," Justice Crawford said.