A TEENAGE getaway driver involved in a service station holdup has been sentenced to a two-year community-based order.
Lyndon Matthew Fontana, 19, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty last week in the Ballarat County Court to one count of armed robbery.
In sentencing the teen Judge Graeme Crossley said while Fontana was not the main offender in the holdup, the crime was serious, including Fontana's agreement to be a part of the robbery.
Fontana was the driver of the getaway car in a holdup of the Ampol service station on Albert St, Sebastopol on March 14 this year.
The court heard on Friday Fontana drove his girlfriend and a friend to the service station, where the male co-offender entered with a knife and demanded cash and stole $110 before fleeing to the waiting vehicle.
Fontana then drove to Apollo Bay, at the request of his girlfriend, stopping to dump the knife on the way.
Defence lawyer Niell Hutton said Fontana's girlfriend had wanted to go to Apollo Bay to fight a girl who had insulted her but the trio had no money for petrol.
Yesterday Judge Crossley said Fontana must have had some understanding of the consequences of his actions.
"I understand the victim suffered considerably," he said.
However, he admitted there were some mitigating factors, including Fontana's age and his guilty plea. He also said Fontana had been in no other trouble since the matter and was trying to overcome an addiction to cannabis.
"You are a young offender and your rehabilitation is of primary concern," Judge Crossley said.
Fontana was convicted and sentenced to a two-year community-based order including 500 hours of unpaid community service.