Towradgi Robbery: 4-year Sentence

Illawarra Mercury

Saturday December 20, 2008

By VERONICA APAP

A SYDNEY man was jailed for 41/2 years yesterday, for a $150,000 armed robbery at the Towradgi Beach Hotel in April 2007.

The District Court in Sydney gave his two accomplices good behaviour bonds.

Guillermo Christian Ortiz, 30, of Abbotsbury, was found guilty of robbery with an offensive weapon and perverting the course of justice.

He was jailed for a minimum of three years and will be eligible for parole in June 2010.

His brother Mauricio Alejandro Ortiz, 27, of West Hoxton, in October pleaded guilty to creating a false statement to hinder an investigation. He was later given a 20-month good behaviour bond.

Guillermo Ortiz's girlfriend, Kira Jane McAviney, 23, of Bargo, pleaded guilty to the same charge and was later given a two-year good behaviour bond.

Gene Ayson Campbell, 34, of Hilltop, had charges of being an accessory after the fact of armed robbery in company and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime, withdrawn.

The hotel lost $150,000 on April 10 when employees were robbed while counting the day's takings. Guillermo Ortiz was charged with stealing $95,000, only some of which was recovered.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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