/ 22 January 2008

Aussie judge jails ‘pair of fools’ for bungled robbery

Two Australian thieves were labelled “a pair of fools” by a judge on Tuesday as he jailed them over a bungled restaurant robbery in which one shot his female accomplice in the buttocks.

Donna Hayes was shot by her former boyfriend, Benjamin Jorgensen, during an attempt to rob the Cuckoo Restaurant in Melbourne on April Fool’s Day last year, the Victorian County Court heard.

The pair, who pleaded guilty to armed robbery, fled with a bag of bread rolls in the belief it was the day’s takings of about $26 000, the national AAP news agency reported.

But the mistakes did not end there.

Jorgensen (38) made for the wrong getaway car before accidentally shooting Hayes (36) in the buttocks.

“I’ve heard of the Keystone Kops — this is Keystone Robbers,” Judge Roland Williams told the court as the evidence was presented.

He jailed Hayes for eight years and Jorgensen for seven. — AFP