A 27-Year-old Nowra man charged over the armed robbery of the Bomaderry IGA Supermarket in September 2013 has been sentenced to four and a half years jail.
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Joseph Lewis Tighe, of Pioneer Place, appeared before Judge Ian McClintock in Nowra District Court charged with robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon.
The court heard Tighe, in company of an unknown person, who was armed with what appeared to be a shortened small calibre rifle, robbed the Bomaderry IGA in the Lyndhurst Centre on September 9 of $9960.
The pair burst into the supermarket, with their faces covered with balaclavas and wearing gloves.
The unknown person was carrying a shortened small calibre sawn off rifle and said “Give us the money this is a hold up.”
At the time there were five staff working in the store and two customers.
The other offender approached a checkout area and ordered a staff member to open the till.
The male staff member, who was in the middle of a transaction, couldn’t open the till quickly and was struck on the back of the head with the rifle.
Tighe took a female customer to a rear office of the supermarket where the safe was located.
Two employees, aged 16 and 17, were in the office at the time, with Tighe demanding the pin, which was provided and he removed several bags of money.
Court documents stated the the other offender took more cash from the tills after the employee finally managed to get them open, before running from the store, dropping coins as he fled.
The pair left the store in a northerly direction on Lyndhurst Drive in a black coloured Holden Commodore.
Following investigations, viewing CCTV footage and through listening devices, police were able gain information and eventually arrested Tighe at a Basin View address.
Judge McClintock sentenced Tighe to four years and six months jail from August 25, 2015 with a non-parole period of two years and eight months.