A Gold Coast man has been arrested over a cold case heist and shooting at one of Melbourne’s biggest shopping centres more than 30 years ago.
On May 16, 1994, two Armaguard employees, a 61-year-old man and a 54-year-old man, were at the centre’s cinema to collect the weekend’s takings.
As they were leaving the complex, they were confronted by a lone male offender wearing a balaclava and carrying a handgun and a cardboard box.
The 54-year-old man was shot in the lower leg. The round struck him in the right ankle before ricocheting into the shoe of the 61-year-old man.
A 40-year-old a good Samaritan, was also shot in the leg causing life altering injuries.
All three men were conveyed to hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds while the offender got away with three bags of cash.
The offender had remained at large ever since until Victoria Police made an appeal for information earlier this month which received new intelligence.
That lead to the Gold Coast Major Organised Crime Squad executing search warrants at two properties in Southport and Nerang on Thursday morning.
A 78-year-old Southport man was taken into custody. A number of mobile phones, two laptops and a quantity of cash were also seized.
He appeared at Southport Magistrates’ Court on Thursday afternoon, where extradition to Melbourne was approved.
He has been charged with the following offences:
- Armed robbery
- Intentionally cause serious injury
- Two counts of intentionally cause injury
- Reckless conduct endanger life
- Theft
- Common law assault
- Carrying pistol without certificate
- The Commonwealth offence of dealing with property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime.
He will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 1 June.
