Man sentenced for Post Bank robbery

Press, 4 March 1989, Page 7

Man sentenced for Post Bank robbery

Dean Noble, the convicted robber of the Phillipstown Postßank, laughed and gestured to a cheering friend in the public gallery after being sentenced to five years prison yesterday for the $20,000 robbery. Mr Justice Hardie-Boys told Noble, aged 21, a welder, that he wanted to order Noble to pay reparations to the bank but both counsels, Mr Michael Knowles, for Noble, and Mr David Saunders, for the Crown, had agreed not to call for such an order. “The money has not been recovered and because you were apprehended only a short time afterwards' then your share — I believe there were others involved — will not have been spent. “I believe you could put your hands on it and pay it back so I was minded to make an order for reparations. “But counsel don’t accept this — the police believe they can recover the money in other ways,” his Honour said. He told Noble that until

he had a change in attitude and could be useful within the community "it has to be protected from you.”

The sentence was reduced by six months taking into account time Noble spent on remand.

Noble had earlier been sentenced to nine months prison for his part in the Addington Prison riots.

His Honour told Noble his trial had been a “waste of public time and money.” “This is not a criticism of your counsel, because he was carrying out his duty, but because I can’t give you the credit of pleading guilty when you know you are guilty,” he said.

“However, your counsel says you still believe you are not responsible.” His Honour called Noble’s robbery' of the bank, while armed with a hammer on August 3 “a brazen and well planned robbery.” He added it was probably because of the bank staff’s coolness no-one was injured during its ex-

Mr Knowles, in mitigation, said Noble’s demeanour had changed during his remand at Addington Prison. Being locked in a cell for 23 hours each day with an hour of exercise had made Noble “uncontrollable and difficult' to communicate with.” “I can’t suggest other than a substantial term in prison but I suggest that Noble has already had a hard time in prison. Hopefully he can make a start in his life when he is released. “He is an intelligent young man and is still close to his family,” Mr Knowles submitted. Mr Saunders told his Honour there was not as much violence used by Noble as recorded in other robberies.

Nevertheless, with a 23 per cent increase in aggravated robberies last year the police were concerned.

Noble seemed to have “a pattern of ingrained violent offending in his life,” Mr Saunders said.