A former security guard who stole almost $100,000 during a string of armed robberies in the Canberra region has been sentenced to more than nine years behind bars.
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Nathan Gordon Bryant, 32, pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court last year to three counts of aggravated robbery, attempted robbery and discharging a firearm.
He was committed to the higher court for sentencing and appeared in ACT Supreme Court on Thursday.
The court heard Bryant stole about $99,540 during armed raids in the territory over six months in 2006 and 2007.
Court documents showed Bryant worked as a security guard in cash vans and on club doors in 2005 and 2006.
In November 2006, he covered his face and armed himself with a sawn-off shotgun before stealing $46,508 from the Eastlake Football Club in Griffith.
A month later, he robbed the same club of $15,724 at gunpoint.
In January 2007, Bryant wielded a shotgun as he threatened staff and then discharged the weapon at the Ginninderra Labor Club before fleeing without any money.
Three hours later, he stole $15,310 from the Canberra Raiders Sports Club in Gungahlin.
In March that year, staff at Emu Bank McDonald's in Belconnen handed over $11,455 after Bryant confronted them with a shotgun.
He stole a further $10,542 from the same restaurant during a similar gunpoint heist two weeks later.
In a victim impact statement, a female McDonald's employee said she had started to circle the restaurant car park before her shift started after the incidents to look for anyone suspicious.
She also was afraid of working alone and would often ask staff to stay back.
Bryant was arrested in April 2007 and police allegedly discovered a black balaclava, a sawn-off shotgun and cartridges in his white Toyota Hilux.
Justice Hilary Penfold sentenced Bryant to nine years and two months in jail with a non-parole period of four years, backdated to take into account time already spent in prison.
In handing down her sentence, Justice Penfold said each of the offences was planned and serious.
"The offences were aggravated by the vulnerability of the victims and the use of a weapon,'' she said.
She noted Bryant's upbringing was stable but he had a troubled relationship with his father and was bullied for being overweight.
Justice Penfold said while Bryant's motive was unclear, he could have been influenced by his gambling habit, financial pressures or from post-traumatic stress disorder after he was held up as a security guard.
The court heard Bryant had completed numerous education courses while in custody and had good prospects for rehabilitation.
He had the support of his family and the Marulan community and hoped to find work there as a welder upon his release from jail.
''You will have the opportunity to go home and show your community and your family that you really have rehabilitated yourself in prison," Justice Penfold said.
Bryant will be eligible for parole in April next year.