An "unthinking, violent criminal" who disguised himself with a motorbike helmet and brandished a shotgun has been jailed for his brazen stickups in Canberra's northern suburbs.
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Mitchell Jacka, 28, terrorised his victims in a string of gunpoint heists within days in April and May.
His crime spree began when he and several others busted into the Turner Rugby Union Club and then fled after they had failed to open a cash box when an alarm sounded the night of April 29.
That same night, Jacka was with three other men when they wielded knives and sawn-off shot-guns and demanded cash from two food truck workers nearby about 2.55am.
When the men swore at them to leave, one of the offenders pointed a shotgun at his head and asked for money again.
The worker handed over about $5000 from his car before the robbers nabbed his wallet as well.
A few days later, Jacka was with another man when they donned motorcycle helmets, pointed guns and stormed the Belconnen Soccer Club, where they demanded cash from a worker.
The employee said he had no money, so the men ran to the bar where they aimed the firearms at a bartender and forced her to give them about $500.
Jacka's wave of offending continued the next day, when he again put on a motorbike helmet and grabbed a gun before he stormed into the booze shop at the Nicholls shopping centre.
He pointed the gun at the store clerk and demanded money before he fled with the cash and a packet of smokes.
Jacka was still wearing his disguise and carrying the gun when he threatened a worker at a supermarket on the University of Canberra campus with the weapon before sprinting with $2000 20 minutes later.
He was arrested the next day and pleaded guilty to five aggravated robberies and one aggravated burglary in May.
Jacka blamed his drug habit for his "poor decision-making".
But Justice Michael Elkaim said drug use was no excuse for his crimes as he sentenced him to seven years imprisonment in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday.
He will serve a non-parole period of four years.
"I have no doubt that every one of the victims felt the effects of being threatened by a sawn-off shotgun," Justice Elkaim said.
The judge said all the aggravated robberies were similarly serious "based on the terror inflicted on the individual victims".
One woman described, in a victim impact statement, the "60 seconds that changed her life", when Jacka had pointed a gun at her body and shouted at her.
She also described her sense of guilt because of the loss suffered by the business's owner.
"This feeling is of course unjustified, but reflects the extent of the damage that is done in such a short time by an unthinking, violent criminal," Justice Elkaim said.
Another woman addressed the offender in her written statement: "You didn't have the right to do what you did.
"I understand that you are an addict, and don't hold it against you as a person.
"You have a disease, an addiction - it was horrible the thing you did, and I want you to do the time you deserve, but hope your family can support you through getting better."
Justice Elkaim said Jacka had been known to ACT Corrective Services since 2008 and had "tried most of the services offered".
"He has been subject to good behaviour orders, periods on bail, terms of periodic detention and full-time detention. He has not been deterred from returning to criminal activity."
The court heard his childhood was "deprived", he had mental health problems and began abusing alcohol and drugs from an early age. A pre-sentence report author found he was at high risk of reoffending.
Justice Elkaim said despite Jacka's "bleak" prospects for rehabilitation, he should be given the opportunity to improve his life.
He will be eligible for parole in May 2021.
