Tasmanian Teenager Sentenced for Armed Robbery During Detention Escape

One of the teenagers involved in a group escape from Tasmania's youth detention centre has been sentenced for his involvement in an armed robbery committed while on the run. Seven detainees broke out of the Ashley Youth Detention Centre in December last year, in an incident that involved one staff member being stabbed and two others being injured. The morning after the escape, two of the youths were outside an accommodation complex in the north-west town of Penguin when they threatened two tourists with a knife and stole their car. The two detainees were arrested later that morning, and the older offender, who was 16 at the time, has now been sentenced by Justice Stephen Estcourt in the Supreme Court of Tasmania. He was handed a suspended sentence of six months in detention, with no conviction recorded, while also being ordered to complete 105 hours of community service. Victims were visiting from Europe The two victims of the aggravated armed robbery were a 69-year-old mother and her 34-year-old son, who had travelled from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to visit Tasmania. They were checking out of their accommodation at the Penguin Beachfront Apartments and carrying their luggage to their vehicle when the two youths confronted them in the car park. According to sentencing documents, the teenagers began shouting at the tourists and demanding the keys to their car, with one of them producing a "large knife with a serrated blade" and pointing it towards them. The tourists were unable to recall exactly which boy was holding the knife, though they estimated the blade to be about 20 centimetres long. They handed the keys over to the youths and escaped back to the rear stairwell of the apartment complex, locking the door behind them while the teenagers drove off. The two boys were arrested about an hour and a half later, with a large serrated bread knife being found in the driver's side footwell. 'Very good prospects of changing his life' The older boy pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated armed robbery and was sentenced by Justice Estcourt last Friday. Justice Estcourt described the offences as "extremely serious" and said if they had been committed by an adult, they would have attracted a sentence of imprisonment "measured in years". The sentence was completely suspended under the condition that he commit no offence which, if committed by an adult, would be punishable by imprisonment within a period of two years. According to the sentencing document, the boy has consistently engaged in youth justice supervision and has "high-level anxiety", ADHD and sleep issues. The teenager is currently detained in the Ashley Youth Detention Centre over a previous, unrelated charge. The younger offender is due to appear in the Supreme Court on Friday. All seven of the youths who escaped from the detention centre in December were arrested on the day following their escape. The group was accused of stealing a vehicle from the car park at the facility, before dumping it in Penguin and heading in different directions.