A 24-year-old man who has spent most of the past decade in jail was sentenced to a further five years jail for the 2018 aggravated armed robbery of the Mowbray Hotel.
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Michael Samuel Charlesworth, of Mowbray, was found guilty of the robbery by a jury - the second time he had been found guilty of an armed robbery of the same hotel. In the Supreme Court in Launceston, Justice Robert Pearce said that in previous sentencing comments a judge had urged Charlesworth to give society a fair go or risk spending most of his life in jail.
"It seems you have chosen the latter path," Justice Pearce said.
He said his prospects of reform were poor and it was likely he had become institutionalised.
The shame of Charlesworth's situation was that he was described by a previous judge as being intelligent, gregarious and a good conversationalist. Charlesworth and another man entered the Mowbray Hotel about 8.40pm on May 9, 2018.
He carried a tomahawk and the co-offender carried a machete. They were wearing dark hooded jackets and face coverings and red gloves.
The men arrived at the Mowbray Hotel in a white utility.
Justice Pearce said the vehicle had been seen shortly before at the Rocherlea Tavern which they had intended to rob, except it was closed.
Charlesworth vaulted the bar and confronted staff member Rebecca Mundy and demanded cash.
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The co-offender struck staff member Ross Freeman with the machete causing a severe wound and profuse bleeding.
Charlesworth was equally criminally responsible for the injury because they were part of a joint enterprise.
He escaped with the till which had just $1684 inside. He left a fingerprint on the till which police used in evidence in the trial.
Justice Pearce said victim impact statements revealed that Ms Mundy and Mr Freeman had suffered serious impact on their working lives.
"The psychological impact can be profound, you put them through a frightening ordeal," Justice Peace said.
He said it was a serious example of the crime which was planned, the offenders were armed and disguised and actual bodily harm was caused.
The court heard that after the robbery Charlesworth left clothes and weapons at an address in Verdun Street, Mowbray. Police were quickly able to link his DNA to the items including gloves.
Justice Pearce detailed Charlesworth's criminal history which dated back to 2009.
In 2015, he received a two year and nine-month sentence for two counts of armed robbery when he robber two businesses with a large knife.
In 2019, he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for assaulting a prison officer.
The sentence was backdated to October 28, 2019, when Charlesworth became eligible for parole and imposed a non-parole period of two and a half years.
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
