A prolific Canberra armed robber has been jailed for 16 years and ordered to pay back $30,000.
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Christopher Miles, 37, terrorised the capital's southside with a series of armed robberies and burglaries between 2009 and 2010.
He appeared in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday for sentence on charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and tax fraud.
The court heard Miles had stormed Erindale ACTTAB armed with a sawn-off .22 rifle and with his face covered in December 2009.
He pointed the firearm at the store supervisor, threw a bag over the glass partition, and had staff fill it with about $32,000 from two safes and a register.
In May 2010, Miles and an accomplice, armed with a rifle and a knife, confronted staff at the Burns Club.
They ordered the staff members onto the ground and stole more than $51,000.
In March 2009, Miles and an accomplice botched an attempt to rob a Wanniassa automatic teller machine by pumping it full of gas with the intention of blowing it up.
But the gas failed to ignite and they fled after they noticed a garbage truck nearby.
The court heard the pair had practiced the procedure on garbage bins in order to get the size of the explosive right.
On two occasions, he robbed homes he had previously worked in to remove asbestos.
He also robbed a Kambah sports centre after noticing an open door, and defrauded the tax office more than $30,000 while in jail by lodging false tax returns.
Miles was arrested in 2011 and has since been subject to a number of trials, sentences, and appeals.
Justice Steven Rares on Wednesday sentenced Miles to a further 16 years and one month jail, starting from May 2016.
Justice Rares ordered part of the sentence be concurrent with the existing jail terms, and set the non-parole period at nine years and seven months.
Miles will be eligible for parole in August 2020, but will be subject to a five year good behaviour order upon release.
The judge also ordered Miles repay $30,507.80 to the Commonwealth.
Justice Rares, in sentencing Miles, said significant jail terms had been imposed to punish the "predatory conduct you've inflicted on your fellow citizens.
"All you thought about was getting money without earning it through honest hard work. You chose crime as your primary means to obtain money," the judge said.
"To you it was a quick means to get money … [but] you've scarred each of [your victims] mentally, perhaps for the rest of their lives."
But Justice Rares said Miles' engagement with jail programs had shown a glimmer of hope for rehabilitation.
The judge warned him he faced a life behind bars if he continued to offend upon release.
"You have to change, you have to stop stealing.
"You're finally aware you need to change yourself. You know that's a challenge."
