A concreter who allegedly robbed a service station and terrified a teen cashier with a gun and a sword during an armed robbery was on bail for other unrelated alleged property offences, it can be revealed.
It comes after service station worker narrowly escaped harm after being confronted by a duo near Logan in the early hours of Wednesday.
Two offenders were alleged to have used or threatened to use a firearm at service station Solo in Beenleigh about 1.17am, one armed with a black handgun while another armed with a samurai sword.
They allegedly stole $3000 cash before leaving in a vehicle which was burnt down later.
The worker managed to escape without injury.
Michael Hume, 24, of Loganlea, was charged with one count each of breaching a bail condition, armed robbery, possessing dangerous drugs, possessing utensils, unauthorised dealing with shop goods and authority required to possess explosives.
Lawyer Clancy Robba applied for bail on behalf of Hume at Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Thursday without his appearance.
The court heard Hume had been on bail for five weeks over other unrelated offences including unlawful use of a motor vehicle, evasion and stealing.
Hume was taken into custody at a Bunnings carpark in Browns Plains and a phone that Hume had showed he was allegedly in the vicinity of Beenleigh Solo when the robbery occurred.
His bail application was objected by police, as his charges appeared to be escalating in severity.
Mr Robba told the court his client will contest the charges and estimated a trial can be conducted in 2028 the earliest.
“That will see him on remand for a lengthy period of time,” he said.
Mr Robba said police’s affidavit mentioned CCTV likeness, but there was no evidence to support that exactly there is.
“There is a lack of substantially in that affidavit,” he said.
“There was an alleged weapon or weapons to have been used. None of them was found on my client.”
Mr Robba proposed conditions for his bail including wearing an electronic monitoring device, subject to a curfew and residential restrictions to reduce his client’s risk to an acceptable level.
Magistrate Patrina Clohessy said evidence available is limited in this preliminary stage, but there was at least some linking him to the crime.
“Mr Hume was already subject to bail which he was not fully compliant,” she said.
“I did not consider that he is able to show cause why he would be granted bail again.
“He poses an unacceptable risk for committing further offences and endangering the safety and welfare of others in the community.”
Ms Clohessy refused Hume’s bail application.
Police had earlier said officers located a 24-year-old Loganlea man in the carpark of a business on Commerce Drive at Browns Plains Wednesday afternoon, where he was arrested.
It’s understood police were investigating whether the robbery is linked to two other armed robberies that unfolded at Logan earlier in the week.
About 3am on Monday, a man sitting inside a parked vehicle on Jutland Street in Loganlea was approached by a masked offender armed with a firearm.
A group of up to four people arrived in a silver utility, exited the vehicle and stole several personal items from the man before fleeing the scene.
The man was not physically injured.
Then, about 40 minutes later a white rideshare vehicle was cut off by the silver utility at Berrinba.
Police allege the rideshare vehicle was intercepted on Wayne Goss Drive before both vehicles came to a stop.
It will be further alleged the occupants exited the utility and threatened the rideshare driver, a man in his 30s, and his passenger, a woman in her 30s, with a firearm before demanding the keys to the car.
Both victims fled the scene on foot to safety and were physically uninjured.
Police were called to the corner of Curtsii Court and Third Ave at Kingston in relation to a vehicle fire at 1:30am and are working to confirm if it is related to the robbery.
Logan Police District Detective Inspector Ian Galpin said the police were prioritising catching all the alleged offenders given the violent nature of the robbery and expressed his best wishes for the 18-year-old worker – who made a lucky escape through a rear exit of the building.
“I’m confident to say that young man was probably terrified. Everyone has the right to come to work and conduct their business in a safe environment. There’s no excuse for what that young man had to go through, and I wish him all the best.”
Inspector Galpin said police are still investigating a possible connection between the robbery and a torched vehicle later found nearby at the intersection of Curtsii Court and Third Ave in Kingston and are calling on any witnesses to come forward.
Extracted in full from: https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/queensland/worker-escapes-after-duo-armed-with-sword-and-gun-rob-beenleigh-service-station/news-story/d9ea89d6ebad13d77cddd2df6a144457
