By Aneeka Simonis
A VIOLENT armed offender who used Gumtree to steal from and assault his victims has been sentenced to a further four years imprisonment.
Adrian Fry, 25, from Pakenham, was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria on 11 November after pleading guilty to 13 charges including armed robbery, assault with a weapon and drug possession.
At the time of sentencing, Fry was already serving a nine-month jail term.
The court heard Fry, posing as a prospective buyer, went to the home of two female victims and stole iPhones advertised for sale on Gumtree on 3 and 4 January this year.
He listed one of the iPhones on Gumtree that day, and drove to a prospective buyer’s house.
The court heard he met with the male victim, tasered him and stole $620 cash without handing over the phone.
Fry met with another interested buyer at Berwick Railway Station on January.
The male victim inspected the phone, and requested Fry provide a phone charger with the phone.
The court heard Fry and his co-accused invited him to go collect the charger.
Instead, he drove the male victim to a dirt road in Beaconsfield and stole the man’s $750 cash.
Fry then pulled out a handgun, and his co-accused allegedly pulled a shotgun on the victim demanding he hand over his mobile phone and bag.
The co-offender then allegedly struck the victim to the head. He required stitching.
Fry was arrested in a car that was stolen from a rural property in Officer on 2 January.
The court heard it was fitted with false registration plates and another set were found inside the car boot in addition to an iPhone, a sawn-off shotgun, a homemade handgun, two tasers, 17 shotgun cartridges and 51 .22 calibre bullets.
Fry was also found to be in possession of methylamphetamine, MDMA/Ecstasy and GHB.
The prosecution conceded the drugs were not in his possession for the purposes of trafficking.
Fry has an extensive criminal record.
He was sentenced to nine months jail in March, and is currently in protective custody as a result of an assault which took place in jail in August.
Fry was sentenced to a further four years’ imprisonment on 11 November over the new charges.
He was also ordered to pay $3500 in fines for possession of ammunition and fraudulent use of registration plates.
