A woman has been sentenced for her part in an armed hold-up of a Benalla service station last year.
Natalie Pieper, 20, of Wodonga, pleaded guilty in Shepparton County Court to charges of armed robbery and theft.
Pieper and a co-accused, Tyson Smith-Anderson, held up what was then the Woolworths Caltex service station in Bridge St East shortly before 7am on January 10 last year.
Smith-Anderson was holding a shotgun with two hands as he demanded the female shop attendant “give me cigarettes”.
Pieper was also heard to yell out, “Get the money out of the register”.
The pair, who were both aged 18 at the time, escaped with $950 worth of cigarettes and cash.
The court also heard the car they were in had been driven to another Benalla service station 30 minutes earlier but the attendant at that station used the shop PA system to tell those in the car they were watching them.
About 20 minutes after the armed robbery, the car also pulled into a service station at Glenrowan but left when the occupants saw police.
At 7.25am, the car was filled with $55.23 worth of fuel at the Apco service station in Wangaratta before it left without the petrol being paid for.
In her sentencing, Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis noted the impact the armed robbery had had on the service station attendant.
In her victim impact statement, the attendant told how the robbery had impacted her sense of safety and security, as well as her work, health and relationships, Judge Karapanagiotidis said.
The attendant has not returned to Benalla since the incident.
Judge Karapanagiotidis said the incident was not sophisticated and Pieper herself was not armed.
She also said Pieper had been smoking methamphetamines in the days leading up to the armed robbery, and this had started after she was abducted and assaulted herself six days before she did the armed robbery.
She also noted a psychological report that told of a childhood “marred by family violence, neglect and drug abuse”, including being introduced to drugs at the age of 11 by her father.
Pieper also has post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from experiences at a young age.
Judge Karapanagiotidis said she took into account Pieper’s youth and the fact she had no prior criminal history before this, but also the seriousness of the crime.
“Your offending was serious and its impact on your victim is long-lasting,” she said.
Pieper was sentenced to a community corrections order for 26 months, with 180 hours of community work.
The order also includes a condition she undergoes treatment and rehabilitation for drug use and mental health, with up to 120 hours of these programs counting towards her community work hours.
She was also ordered to pay $950 in compensation to Benalla Woolworths Caltex and $55.23 to Apco in Wangaratta.
Smith-Anderson was earlier sentenced to two years in a youth justice centre for his part in the armed robbery.