A Supreme Court jury in Launceston returned a split verdict in the aggravated armed robbery trial of two Launceston men on Tuesday.
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The jury took three hours to unanimously find Michael Samuel Charlesworth, 23, guilty of the robbery of the Mowbray Hotel on May 9, 2018.They found Matthew Luke Williams, 27, not guilty of the same charge.
During the robbery a hotel employee was struck over the head with a machete and $1684.20 stolen from a till before the perpetrators drove away in a white Holden Commodore utility.
After the verdict defence counsel Jessie Sawyer told Justice Robert Pearce that Charlesworth had been remanded in custody in relation to the charge since October 28, 2019.
It is the second time Charlesworth has been found guilty of robbing the Mowbray Hotel.
In 2015 he was sentenced to two years and nine months jail for the stealing $550 from the hotel's bottleshop while armed with a knife.
Crown prosecutor John Ransom presented a circumstantial case involving CCTV footage, DNA evidence and called evidence from witnesses including police and Charlesworth's friend Ziggy Brunskill and his brother Brandon Charlesworth.
During the trial the jury heard that DNA evidence linked Charlesworth to several clothing items including a pair of orange gloves, black shoes and a black backpack used in the robbery.
The items were found in an unused washing machine in a garage at a house in Verdun St, Mowbray where he had been staying. His fingerprint was found on the till from the Mowbray Hotel and on the getaway car.
Mr Williams DNA was matched to a blue cap, a pair of orange gloves and a grey jacket. He went to George Town with a former partner on the evening of May 9, 2018.
However, Charlesworth was seen on CCTV footage with Mr Brunskill at BP Newnham about 10.30pm. Mr Brunskill and Brandon Charlesworth were arrested early the next day after evading police.Sentencing is on September 22 at 4.15pm.