The joint perpetrator of a "brazen" armed robbery has avoided further time in custody after a court found she was "at a crossroads in her life".
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Grace Emily Larkham, 24, was sentenced to an intensive correction order of more than two years and two months in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday.
Larkham previously pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated robbery, possessing an offensive weapon with intent, riding in a stolen vehicle, and joint commission minor theft.
In July 2022, Larkham and Kiran James Eichmann, 33, stole bags full of OxyContin, Valium, Viagra and Endone from Capital Chemist in O'Connor.
Agreed facts state Larkham, wearing a balaclava and wielding a syringe filled with "a blood-like liquid substance", threatened a security guard at the pharmacy twice with the needle.
Eichmann, who brandished a hammer and a nail gun, demanded staff fill a bag with drugs. When the bag started to overflow, he directed them to fill another one.
The pair also stole cash registers off the counter.
Following a police pursuit in a stolen vehicle after the robbery, Larkham and Eichmann were both arrested.
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On Friday, Justice David Mossop said Larkham was at a "crossroads" and had undergone rehabilitation for illicit drug use.
The court heard, despite an "unremarkable" childhood, Larkham started taking cannabis at 12 years old before moving onto methamphetamine and heroin.
Justice Mossop said the 24-year-old's mental health diagnoses of schizophrenia, anxiety and depression were exacerbated by her drug use.
The judge found the stolen medication was taken either for self-consumption or to onsell to fund drug abuse.
"[The robbery] was more brazen than sophisticated," Justice Mossop said.
The court heard Larkham had ceased contact with her drug-taking peers and was getting treatment for her mental illnesses.
"By breaking her long history of illicit substance use and obtaining treatment for schizophrenia [she now has] prospects for life in the future," Justice Mossop said.
Speaking directly to Larkham, Justice Mossop said: "You are at a crossroads in your life and if you take the wrong turn then things will get a lot worse."
In sentencing, the judge took into account the fact Larkham had spent nearly four months remanded in custody after the robbery.
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