Knife-wielding teen who sparked Karrinyup Shopping Centre terror after Bondi Junction attack spared detention

A teenager who brandished a big knife while robbing a Myer in Perth’s north has been spared detention and says he felt “really bad” for terrifying an elderly store worker. The boy was 15 on April 27 when he stole a pair of Bose headphones from the Karrinyup department store then pulled out a 20cm knife when a 71-year-old staffer tried to stop him leaving. The incident sparked fears among shoppers of a deadly Bondi Junction-type attack, which had unfolded a fortnight earlier. Prosecutors told Perth Children’s Court on Thursday that the teen, who is a ward of the State, had asked a shop assistant to look at the headphones before snatching them and a struggle ensued. It was alleged that as he fled, the boy held the knife up and waved it around in a stabbing motion, coming within 1m of the elderly staffer. His lawyer said the teen did not make such a gesture and “never had an intention to hurt” her. “He does feel really bad for scaring the lady,” she said. “His words were ‘you have to be respectful, especially of old ladies’. “He didn’t say anything threatening.” Running outside, the teen hid the blade in a bush and was soon arrested at a bus stop. He also pleaded guilty to committing an indecent act in public - making sexualised gestures using a teddy bear and a lewd comment to a 15-year-old girl at Flip Out trampoline centre in Bibra Lake in July. Magistrate Kyle Martin said he was sure the boy appreciated the charges — aggravated armed robbery and indecent act in public — were serious. “I hope you appreciate that when you pull out a knife, the other person doesn’t know if you’ll use it,” the magistrate said. The boy also admitted stealing Beats headphones from JB Hi Fi in Forrest Chase and a teddy bear from Lucky Charm in Baldivis last year, with the court told he confessed to arresting officers that he also possessed about $2500 worth of stolen electrical items. He was spared detention, having spent 20 days behind bars for all of those charges, and made subject to a six-month community-based order. Youth justice officers will supervise him and impose counselling or programs he must attend. The boy, who has a developmental disorder, was also slapped with a six-month restraining order preventing him from contacting the 15-year-old girl. Magistrate Martin said the ward had been “bumped around, not feeling safe and stable” with a large number of placements.