Deng Kuom Kuot, 30, of Central Wagga, appeared in Wagga District Court on Wednesday having earlier pleaded guilty to one count each of steal from person and robbery.

The charges related to two separate incidents within two weeks of each other in December 2020 and January last year.

At 1.40am on January 12, 2021, Kuot robbed the BP service station at the corner of Edward and Fox streets in Wagga of items worth $2399, including $321.50 in cash, two mobile phones, 38 packets of cigarettes, three pies, two baseball caps, one fuel can and four pairs of sunglasses.

A police statement of facts said Kuot threatened violence against a 24-year-old service station employee in order to gain access to the cash register and then threatened to kill him if he did not hand over cigarettes.

Judge Penelope Wass said the robbery was "haphazard and shambolic" due to the employee knowing Kuot from previous visits and Kuot was under investigation by police for a prior theft at the time.

Kuot attempted to flee the scene when he heard police sirens, and carried with him two plastic bags containing stolen items, but he was chased down by officers on foot.

Prior to the robbery, Kuot stole $230 in cash from a 76-year-old man at 5.45pm on December 31, 2020 at the intersection of Bourke Street and Mark Avenue, Tolland.

After a short conversation, the victim brought out his wallet to show Kuot his identification and explain that he was from Cyprus.

Kuot grabbed the victim's wallet and fled the scene on a bike, running into the man's leg while doing so.

A female bystander followed Kuot and demanded he return the money, at which point he removed the Australian cash from the wallet, leaving behind 110 Euros, and dropped the wallet on the road.

Judge Wass said it was not appropriate to sentence Kuot with the purpose of deterring other offenders due to his mental health issues and a traumatic brain injury from an assault in 2018 that impaired his control of impulses and emotions.

Kuot also suffered from nightmares and flashbacks from losing both parents and having to flee the civil war in Sudan as a refugee at age 9.

"To say he has had a difficult life would be an understatement," Judge Wass said.

Kuot will be released on Monday due to time served, at which point he will start a two-year community corrections order for drug rehabilitation and mental health treatment.

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