A student is set to stand trial over an incident in which he allegedly tried to rob a fast food outlet while armed with a butcher's cleaver, prompting fearful staff and customers to flee.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Jack Colin Ford, 26, faced the ACT Magistrates Court via audio-visual link from Canberra's jail on Wednesday.
The Belconnen man had previously pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted aggravated robbery.
Legal Aid lawyer Ewan Small told the court that plea was maintained, prompting magistrate James Lawton to commit a beanie-clad Ford to the ACT Supreme Court for trial.
Ford has been behind bars since New Year's Day, when police arrested him over an alleged attempt to rob Hungry Jack's the previous night.
MORE COURT AND CRIME NEWS:
In court documents tendered at the time, police said a man alleged to be Ford entered the fast food outlet, on Emu Bank in Belconnen, with his face covered.
CCTV footage allegedly shows the masked man making "cutting gestures" towards the five staff and roughly 20 customers present, "instilling fear into" these people.
Ford, who allegedly made demands along the lines of "give me the money" and "get out of the way", is accused of pushing a customer into a bin during the early stages of the incident.
Police claim all but one of the people present left the store as Ford allegedly climbed over a counter, unsuccessfully tried to open cash registers, and wiped down surfaces with a sleeve.
The final customer, who had been in the toilets, followed suit after being shoved by the armed man when he emerged.
Now alone in the store, the man said to be Ford allegedly broke into a donation box and stole a handful of coins he ultimately dropped while fleeing the scene.
Police, who scoured the area that night without success, arrested Ford about 24 hours later.
At his unit, officers claim to have found a butcher's cleaver and clothes that matched those worn by the armed man in the Hungry Jack's CCTV footage.
Following his committal for trial on Wednesday, Ford's case is due to go before the Supreme Court registrar on May 18.
The process of obtaining trial dates is set to begin that day.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
