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Police will seek to use recordings from a listening device as they prepare their case against a former rugby league player accused of carrying out an armoured truck heist decades ago, a court has been told.
Garry Leslie Sullivan, 78, made his first appearance in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning after he was extradited from Southport, on the Gold Coast, last week.
Wearing a black long-sleeve T-shirt and sporting a grey beard, the accused armed robber sat quietly in the dock flanked by security and was not required to speak.
Mr Sullivan has been charged with nine offences including armed robbery, intentionally causing injury and theft over his alleged involvement in the robbery of an Armaguard truck and shooting of three men in Melbourne in 1994.
Police will allege two Armaguard employees attended a cinema at the Chadstone Shopping Centre in Malvern East on the morning of May 16 to collect the weekend’s takings.
Leaving the complex, it’s alleged the pair were confronted by a male wearing a fawn balaclava and carrying a handgun and cardboard box about 11.40am.
“Get down, drop the money,” they were allegedly instructed.
One employee was allegedly shot in the leg, with the bullet ricocheting into the shoe of the other guard, after he failed to comply.
Another man, a bystander then aged 40, was also allegedly shot in the leg after following the masked man as he left the parking structure with two bags containing a significant amount of cash.
A cardboard box allegedly containing one bag of cash, one of the Armaguard employees’ firearm and other items was dropped at the scene.
The charges against Mr Sullivan follow an announcement by Victoria Police on May 17 last month that the cold-case investigation was being reopened due to “new intelligence”.
In court, prosecutors requested a longer-then-usual period of three months to prepare their case against the accused man.
The need to transcribe recordings from a listening device and telephone intercepts was cited as the reason for the delay.
Charges were laid against Mr Sullivan on May 21, the court was told.
Mr Sullivan’s lawyer also raised health issues that needed to be addressed while he remained in custody, including a cancer diagnosis, coronary artery disease, osteoporosis and coeliac disease.
The court was told Mr Sullivan “hasn’t eaten in a number of days” due to the lack of gluten-free food available to him.
Mr Sullivan was remanded into custody and will return to court on October 13.
A former Newtown player, Sullivan was part of Australia’s winning World Cup squad in 1970.
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