Guilty plea on bottle shop robbery

A 26-year-old man has admitted robbing a Geraldton bottle shop last month — after initially claiming he was coerced by his knife-wielding older brother. Travis Noel Carrick pleaded guilty in Geraldton Magistrate’s Court on Monday to 23 offences including aggravated armed robbery. Carrick and his brother, 28-year-old David Robert Carrick, stormed the Geraldton Beach Hotel on June 3, making off with pre-mix drinks and cigarettes, and injuring a female employee in the process. At his first appearance Carrick told the court his older brother, who was armed with a knife during the hold-up, threatened to stab him if he refused to take part. At a subsequent appearance Magistrate Chris Miocevich cast doubt on this claim, saying CCTV footage of the incident appeared to tell a different story. And when Carrick reappeared on Monday, after being remanded in custody so his lawyer could view the footage, his story had changed. “I’m guilty, but I wasn’t the one with the knife,” he told the magistrate. Carrick’s brother pleaded guilty to aggravated armed robbery last month. Mr Miocevich remanded the younger brother in custody at Greenough Regional Prison and committed the matter to the District Court on July 31. Among the other charges he pleaded guilty to on Monday were 13 counts of stealing, gaining benefit by fraud, assaulting a public officer, carrying a prohibited weapon and various traffic offences. Those matters were adjourned until August 6. “If the District Court gives you jail then I can take that into account when I sentence you,” Mr Miocevich said.