A man who poured methylated spirits over himself, the floor and counter of the Australia Post Office at Sussex Inlet during a robbery on November 16 last year will be sentenced in Nowra District Court in June.
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Mitchell Ward, 22, of Sussex Inlet, pleaded guilty to robbery armed with an offensive weapon in Nowra Local Court before Magistrate Gabriel Fleming.
Charges of damaging property and unlawfully entering a property will also be taken into account in his sentencing.
Court papers said Ward entered the post office on Jacobs Drive around 2.30pm, carrying a two litre bottle of methylated spirits, a black lighter and a white towel.
Court papers said he placed his hand on the shoulder of a customer before jumping the counter and pouring metho over the floor, countertop and himself.
Police said a female employee walked towards Ward but he made a low "growl" or "grunting" noise.
Papers said he then walked towards the rear door of the property but was unable to open the door.
Police said Ward dropped the towel but returned to the counter and took $2000 (four bundles of $50 notes) before running from the rear of the building.
The staff member raised the alarm. A number of witnesses followed Ward, as he made his escape, capturing it on a mobile phone.
They followed him to a property in Jacobs Drive where he jumped a rear fence and gained entry to the unoccupied holiday house.
Uniformed officers from the South Coast Police District arrested Ward around 10 minutes after the robbery.
He was lying semi-naked on a bed in the master bedroom.
Court papers said when officers entered the property they noticed a strong smell of accelerant before finding the Ward on the bed partially covered by a doona.
A search of another bedroom recovered his black clothing and the bundles of cash.
Ward will appear in Nowra District Court for sentencing on June 11.
Read more: Crime/Court
