A Wagga man has been sentenced to 11 years in jail for a brazen crime spree that began with a "terrifying" armed robbery with a machete and culminated in him attempting to run over police officers with a stolen car.
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Jimmaley Boney, 33, was convicted on June 9 of eight charges, including car theft, assault with intent to rob, armed robbery, drive in a manner dangerous during a police pursuit and use offensive weapon to avoid apprehension.
The offences were all committed during one night on November 7, 2017 in Wagga.
On Friday, Wagga District Court judge Gordon Lerve handed down the 11-year sentence, imposing a non-parole period of seven years. Boney was not eligible for a discount as he pleaded not guilty and contested the charges at trial.
Judge Lerve said he could "not describe how truly terrifying the experience must have been" for the 19-year-old female worker during the late-night armed robbery at the Sturt Highway service station.
He said the seriousness of Boney's offending, both during the armed robbery and the subsequent police pursuit, left him "firmly of the opinion" that a jail sentence was the only appropriate punishment.
The court heard that in the days leading up to the offences, Boney was staying at a house in Wagga while consuming methamphetamine or 'ice'. Boney and a woman used a Commodore sedan, which had been previously stolen from Lockhart, to drive to the service station on the corner of Edward and Docker streets at 10:45pm.
Boney rushed into the service station wearing a balaclava and brandishing a machete while yelling loudly and proceeded to smash a display stand with his weapon.
The worker retreated behind a safety barrier that consisted of metal cables strewn in front of the counter but Boney slid under the lowest cable and pursued her into a storeroom.
"I have no difficulty accepting [the worker] was trying to get away and was terrified ... the CCTV footage shows the offender coming frighteningly close to [the victim] as she runs from behind him," Judge Lerve said.
The worker ran outside and went to Docker Lane, where the service station's sandwich delivery man was calling police.
Boney ran directly at the delivery man with the machete raised, chasing him as he ran away west along Edward Street, crossing the highway a number of times.
The victim stopped running as he was out of breath and attempted to shield himself from the offender with a garbage bin.
Boney threatened to "chop" the man and demanded his iPhone, wallet and car keys to a Magna sedan.
At about this time a midwife at Calvary Hospital arrived at the driveway of the service station intending to purchase fuel and the female worker got into the vehicle.
Boney approached the vehicle with the machete raised, but the midwife revved the engine and backed off.
Boney then departed the service station in the stolen Magna after instructing his female companion to follow him to Mortimer Place, where the Commodore was set alight.
Judge Lerve said Boney drove the Magna at "extremely dangerous" speeds of no less than 150 kilometres an hour during a later police pursuit, which was terminated for safety reasons at Dobney Avenue.
Police tracked the stolen iPhone to an Ashmont address and took up positions to make an arrest but Boney drove through a set of gates, narrowly missing multiple officers and allowing his escape.
In other news
Boney had already been sentenced at Sydney Downing Centre District Court to a minimum of six years in jail, on August 2020, for his part in an armed robbery and a carjacking at on the South Coast.
Judge Lerve noted that Boney committed the South Coast offences just a few weeks after his night of offending in Wagga.
A psychological report stated Boney was illiterate, suffered violence and abuse in childhood and had severe substance use disorders.
Owing to the previous sentence, Boney will be eligible for parole in May 2028, having served a total of 10 years and two months in custody.
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