A convicted murderer who robbed two regional New South Wales banks at gunpoint in the 1990s believed he was justified in causing pain and suffering to others, a court has heard.
Alexander Robert Macdonald appeared before Port Macquarie District Court on Wednesday, where he came face-to-face with two of his victims after pleading guilty to the two armed robberies.
The 76-year-old was sentenced to eight years in prison, adding to the 28 years he has already spent incarcerated for numerous offences, including several armed robberies and murder.
“He committed a very large number of offences over the years and these are but four of them,” Acting Judge Michael King said.
“There are so many of them I have not bothered to count them up.”
Macdonald was a wanted man when he escaped from a Queensland prison, where he had been serving a 22-year sentence for armed robbery. In October 1996, he entered a Commonwealth Bank branch in Coonabarabran armed with a sawn-off shotgun.
According to agreed facts presented to the court, Macdonald wore a balaclava and gloves as he pointed the weapon at bank employees. Staff handed him almost $19,000 in cash before he seized a 22-year-old woman and used her as a human shield while making his way to his motorbike.
“No alarms, no police. I will let her go when I am free,” he said before releasing the woman unharmed.
Around two months later, Macdonald carried out another armed robbery, this time at an ANZ branch in Laurieton on the NSW mid-north coast. Wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, he entered the bank with another sawn-off shotgun.
Bank staff handed over $78,000 before Macdonald took a 36-year-old hostage as he made his escape.
The hostage was not physically harmed during the incident and appeared in court on Wednesday alongside another victim of Macdonald.
Judge King said being confronted with a gun during a bank robbery would have been terrifying for staff and customers, while the resulting anxiety and distress could have continued “for years, if not life”.
He said Macdonald’s decision to use the shotgun to force bank employees to comply with his demands demonstrated that he was unconcerned about the fear and anxiety he caused.
“He was only interested in obtaining large sums of money for his own benefit,” the judge determined.
“(He) personally felt justified in inflicting pain and suffering on others and stealing the property of others.”
Macdonald entered guilty pleas to the robberies at the earliest opportunity, but Judge King said there was little significant evidence demonstrating genuine remorse.
The judge took Macdonald’s age and medical conditions into account when determining the sentence, while noting that neither prevented him from committing further offences, despite the observation that “bank robberies have gone out of style”.
Macdonald represented himself in court and argued for a sentence that would not require him to remain in custody. He will be eligible for parole at the age of 82.
The latest sentence brings another chapter to a criminal history that extended across all but two Australian states and included Macdonald assuming the identity of a man he had murdered while attempting to evade authorities.
The court was told Macdonald shot Ronald Joseph Williams twice in the head in early 1996 before burying his body at a beach in Western Australia. He did so to avoid detection after escaping from prison.
