A judge has slammed three young men who hurled a rolled-up newspaper and a ceramic pot at an elderly couple before callously robbing them.
Coolio Dereck Mears, 20, and his co-accused, two men who cannot be named as they were 17 at the time of the attack, were sentenced in Perth District Court by Judge Linda Black on Tuesday.
The trio were found guilty of breaking into the South Lake home of Russell and Katie Edwards during the early hours of January 6, 2021, in a criminal trial late last year.
Ms Edwards said the men hit her over the head with a rolled-up newspaper, stomped on her foot and bruised her hand as they tried to grab her rings.
Her husband was hit with a ceramic cat ornament which caused blood to gush from his head, with the young men then wreaking havoc in his home.
Judge Black didn’t hold back as she sentenced Mears to three years behind bars and his younger co-accused to four-and-a-half years and three years, respectively.
‘It is beyond my imagination how any young man could look into the face of two elderly people and behave the way you did,’ she told them.
Coolio Dereck Mears, 20, (pictured) and his co-accused, two men who cannot be named as they were 17-years-old at the time of the attack, were sentenced in Perth District Court by Judge Linda Black on Tuesday
Judge Linda Black (pictured on October, 2021) said the couple would have been ‘terrified’ but that Ms Edwards, 92, had been brave enough to investigate the loud bang
The trio were found guilty of breaking into the South Lake home of Russell and Katie Edwards and attacking them during the early hours of January 6, 2021
‘To not stop what you were doing when you saw how old and vulnerable those two people were … is disgusting.
‘If you get the impression that I am appalled by the offence that you have committed, then you are right.’
Both in their 90s, the couple had been awoken by a large crashing sound and found three men in duffel coats standing on their doorstep.
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Judge Black said the couple would have been ‘terrified’ but that Ms Edwards, 92, had been brave enough to investigate and give one of her attackers a ‘shove’.
After knocking over furniture and ransacking the home, the attackers ‘added insult to injury’ by turning off all the lights and leaving their victims in darkness.
The couple called triple zero as the trio fled the property with several items, including two watches.
Paramedics had to staple the cut on Mr Edward’s head to stop the heavy bleeding, with graphic images of their injuries later released by WA Police.
Judge Black described the attack as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘disgusting’.
After knocking over furniture and ransacking their home, the attackers ‘added insult to injury’ by turning off the lights and leaving their victims in the dark
Ms Edward’s hands (pictured) were bruised by her attackers attempts to take her rings
The couple, both in their 90s, had been awoken by a large crashing sound and found three men in duffel coats standing on their doorstep (pictured is their broken fly-screen on the lawn)
‘They (the Edwards) were in their bed fast asleep and you terrified them, you hurt them, and you stole from them,’ she said.
She agreed the offending had been out of character for 20-year-old Mears who had excelled in school, completed Year 12 and didn’t take drugs.
He had a clean criminal record, unlike his two younger co-accused, and was the only one who had expressed regret at his actions.
One of the teenagers had been on bail at the time of the attack and both had significant criminal histories.
The Edwards have been left with restricted mobility with Ms Edwards now having to use a walker to get around.
