Trio face County Court over Wendouree armed robbery

After spending one hour inside the Norman Street house, the men demanded the two victims drive them to an ATM to retrieve the money.

While the men were still armed with the weapons, one of the victims got out of his vehicle, withdrew the cash and handed it over.

David Boyd, Damon Healey and Ashley Meade were charged over the late-night ordeal which occurred in March last year.

They pleaded guilty to three charges each on Thursday at the County Court of Victoria in the presence of the victims.

Crown prosecutor Damien Hannan said the men attended the victim's house on March 6 at 11.30pm and knocked on the front door.

He said the female victim, aged in her 30s, opened the door and Boyd told her he wanted his money, to which she replied, "f*** off".

The men then forced their way inside the house and Boyd made more demands for the victims to pay him the $600.

Mr Hannan said Boyd and Healey went outside with the male victim, aged in his 30s, to have a cigarette while Meade stayed inside with the female victim.

He said when they went back inside the house, the men pulled out three box cutter knives out of their bags and asked the victim where the money was.

"They stayed in the house for one hour and at one point, Boyd approached (the female victim) and poked her in the face with the box cutter," Mr Hannan said.

He said the victim was crying but the men continued to make demands.

Boyd, Meade and Healey made the victims use their vehicle to drive them to an ATM.

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At 12.25am, the male victim got out of the vehicle and withdrew $600 and gave it to the offenders, who were armed with the box cutters.

The court was told the men told the victims to drive them to a service station and Boyd and Healey were captured on CCTV buying cigarettes. The trio then left the victims in their vehicle.

Boyd and Healey were known to the victims, while Meade had never met the victims.

The trio were arrested the following day on March 8, 2019. Boyd and Meade were on bail for unrelated offences at the time.

Mr Hannan said the victims did not want their statements read to the court, but he said the incident had had a long-lasting impact on them.

Defence barrister Julian Siggins, for Boyd, said his client went to the house in respect of a debt owed by the female victim.

He said the payment was about the female victim asking Boyd to complete certain tasks.

"This is not a random act," Mr Siggins said.

He said Boyd had a number of mental health conditions which "may well have been prevalent during the offending".

Defence barrister Sam Andrianakis, for Healey, said his client was the youngest of the group at 18-years-of-age.

He said Healey had sought to undergo his own residential detox, he had applied for a job and he wanted to get his driver's licence so he could get to work.

Defence barrister Ray Alexander, for Meade, said his client had two children and a supportive family.

"That is the most stable point in his life," Mr Alexander said.

Boyd, 27, Meade, 25, and Healey, 18, each pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, armed robbery and false imprisonment.

Boyd has been in custody for 516 days while Meade has been in custody for 640 days. Healey spent 396 days in custody before he was bailed.

Judge John Smallwood will sentence the trio next week.

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