Jail sentence for Launceston hold-up

The Supreme Court has sent a northern Tasmanian man to jail for his part in the holdup of a Launceston hotel.

Matthew Luke Williams, 25, was found guilty of two counts of armed robbery at the court hearing in Launceston.

The court was told Williams committed the crimes with Adam Jacob Shepherd, of Kings Meadows who had pleaded guilty to the crimes in May 2016. Shepherd was sentenced to seven years jail, with a non-parole period of 3½ years.

Williams was jailed for six years. He has a non-parole period of three years.

Justice Robert Pearce said the two men did the hold up at the Riverside Hotel at about 8.40pm on September 20, 2015.

“Mr Shepherd carried a pistol and the defendant [Williams] carried a hammer,” Justice Pearce said.

He said Williams had used the hammer to gain entry to the hotel, which was locked.

He said a few patrons and the hotel’s manager and assistant manager were inside the hotel at the time of the robbery.

While Shepherd brandished the pistol and aggressively demanded money, Williams struck the manager’s head with the hammer to hurry him up in getting the money.

“The defendant grabbed the money [the manager] produced from safes and cash boxes. In total $21,288 was taken. The offenders then left the hotel through the bar and ran to their vehicle,” Justice Pearce said.

He said the men got into Shepherd’s car and Shepherd drove away at high speed.

“Such was his haste to avoid capture that he crashed his car near Travellers Rest, severely damaging it,” Justice Pearce said.

Then, they entered the home of another man. Shepherd threatened the man with his gun and demanded he hand over his car keys. The court heard Shepherd and Williams then drove off in the man’s car.

Justice Pearce said Williams was “a knowing and active participant” in the hotel robbery and had shown no remorse.

5th July 2018