Gold Coast Magic Millions-winning jockey Luke Tarrant has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison over three armed robberies on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Tarrant carried out the robberies while wearing a full face covering, gloves and long clothing and was armed with a syringe during each offence.
He stole approximately $200 on each occasion he targeted a takeaway store, while a robbery at a 7-Eleven resulted in $598 in cash and confectionery being stolen.
Judge Farr told the court Tarrant had warned the 7-Eleven attendant, “don’t make me jump over the counter, and just give me the money”.
Police identified Tarrant as a suspect in late December after an unrelated street check revealed several distinctive tattoos which were similar to those visible in CCTV footage from the robberies.
A search warrant was subsequently executed at Tarrant’s residence in January, where police located clothing consistent with that worn during the offences. The court also heard Tarrant made admissions regarding the robberies.
Crown prosecutor Alex Stark told the court Tarrant had previous criminal history in New South Wales and Queensland, predominantly involving drug-related offending.
Tarrant had spent about seven months in custody before sentencing, while the court heard one of the attendants continued to experience significant anxiety following the robbery.
“The incident had stopped her from sleeping, she is replaying the incident in her head, and she is skittish as work,” Mr Stark said.
The prosecution sought a prison term of between four and five years.
Defence solicitor David Crews pointed to Tarrant’s early guilty plea and told the court his mother had died when he was around 18 years old.
Mr Crews also said Tarrant had worked as a qualified jockey “his entire life”.
The court heard Tarrant had been using methamphetamine to “lose weight”, which his solicitor submitted was “common” among jockeys.
Tarrant had previously received a six-month racing disqualification for forging a medical certificate stating he was free of drugs.
Mr Crews said Tarrant could not explain the robberies but had been using drugs and alcohol because “he was disappointed in himself for being suspended”.
The court was also told Tarrant hoped to “get back into racing at some point in the future”.
His defence submitted an appropriate head sentence would be between three-and-a-half and four years, with Mr Crews indicating his preferred outcome was a three-year term and a parole release date around May 2027.
Judge Farr found Tarrant’s offending “represent(s) a significant escalation in seriousness”, although he accepted the robbery offences were “out of character”.
The judge said the crimes demonstrated clear premeditation and that Tarrant had deliberately selected “vulnerable targets”.
Tarrant was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison, with the 215 days he had already spent in pre-sentence custody declared as time served.
He will become eligible for parole in July 2027.
