A need to pay an outstanding debt led to a Wodonga man robbing a Lavington service station at gunpoint, a court has heard.
Jarrod Christian Medcraft could not be identified by his victim, who had what he believed was a single-shot .410 shotgun aimed at his head, as he was wearing a motorcycle helmet.
Ultimately Medcraft was arrested and charged only after asking to speak to police to admit to the crime.
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Nothing else to identify Medcraft was found at the BP service station on Travel Stop Way, such as CCTV footage in which his face could be seen.
Medcraft has made a brief appearance in Albury Local Court via a video link to jail.
He pleaded guilty, through defence lawyer Jack Murray, to a single charge of robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon.
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That came after Director of Public Prosecutions representative Alexander Dixon withdrew a second charge of tampering with evidence with intent to mislead a judicial tribunal.
With that, magistrate Richard Funston committed Medcraft for sentence before the District Court in Albury.
A sentencing date will be set when Medcraft's case is mentioned before Judge Sean Grant on December 3.
Mr Funston made his decision after an agreed set of Crown facts was put before the court.
These spelt out how the victim of the robbery, a staff member, had begun his shift at the service station on June 12 at 11.45pm.
He was due to finish his shift at 5.45am, but that was upended around 4.25am.
The man was walking from the building's kitchen to the service console when he saw a person, who he later realised was Medcraft, walking out the doors towards the truck fuel bowsers.
Soon after he noticed Medcraft getting on a nearby motorbike.
The victim turned and walked back to the service console, then turned around on hearing Medcraft speak.
"The victim saw the offender was holding a gun pointed towards him," the Crown says.
Medcraft told the victim "open the tills, put everything in this bag" as he handed over a plastic bag.
The victim began emptying the cash register, then Medcraft said: "Other till, other till."
But the worker showed Medcraft how the other til was empty, so Medcraft called for cigarettes.
After demanding his bag back, Medcraft fled and the worker called police.
In all he stole $219 in cash and 17 packets of cigarettes.
Medcraft was extradited from Victoria on June 16 on unrelated matters, for which he was given a community corrections order in Albury Local Court.
It was at this time he handed himself in over the robbery.
He remains in jail, bail refused.
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