Moment brazen thieves disguised in Muslim female dress steal $150,000 worth of jewellery from shopping centre store

A man who stole $150,000 worth of jewelry at gunpoint while he and an accomplice wore burqas and balaclavas has been sentenced to eight years behind bars.

The Brisbane District Court heard Cody Shannon Blake was researching where to buy “Muslim women’s clothing” and balaclavas in May 2023, when the 22-year-old was convicted of the “aggressive” and “terrifying” robbery earlier this month.

The court heard Blake also investigated jewelery stores in Brisbane and decided to rob Calamvale Central’s Rhia Collection jewelery store in the city’s south.

He visited the mall to film the emergency exits and note the store clerk’s behavior – including what time he packed the most valuable stock – in the days leading up to the brazen robbery.

On May 22, Blake and an accomplice drove to the Calamvale jewelery store in a stolen Mercedes, wearing black balaclavas, burqas and black bags.

Blake, then 20, and his accomplice brazenly stormed into the store at 4:40 p.m., telling the owner to “put everything in the bag and not make any nonsense.” *noise’, the court heard.

Blake then flashed his black and gray shotgun at the store owner. His co-offender also had a gun with him, both of which, the court later heard, were probably unloaded.

Judge Bradley Farr, SC, believed Blake’s co-offender then told the shop owner: ‘Just do it. Don’t make noise’.

The two men, wearing balaclavas and burqas, made off with about $150,000 in jewelry.

When the owner didn’t answer, Blake walked over to a glass display case with the butt of his shotgun and hit it twice.

However, the case did not break and Blake dropped his firearm on the ground.

The court heard this made Blake more aggressive. He allowed the owner to partially open a drawer before his accomplice slipped some gold jewelry from the case into his bag.

A shocked scream from a customer then distracted the two men from the suitcase and the owner appeared to lunge at the men.

CCTV footage from the store appeared to show the pair dropping trays of watches as they rushed to get out.

After the robbery, the court heard Blake then used the stolen Mercedes to drive away from the shopping center, with the $150,000 worth of jewelry.

But when police executed a search warrant at Blake’s home, there was no trace of the loot.

Police found two firearms in the house, the court heard, and a mobile phone which they seized and scrapped, providing evidence that Blake had been researching ‘scrap gold’ online.

The jewelry was never found.

Judge Farr said the events of 2023 constituted “very seriously offensive behaviour”.

‘The complainant’s victim impact statement shows the negative impact you have had on him. Psychologically he suffered. He is suffering from anxiety as a result of your behavior. That’s all completely understandable,” the judge told Blake.

The shop owner’s victim impact statement told the court he continued to suffer psychologically after the robbery

“The presentation of the two of you, disguised as you were, behaving as aggressively as the two of you together, both armed with firearms, would have been terrifying to the complainant.”

The judge did accept that Blake came from a disadvantaged household, struggled with substance abuse, and had been exposed to parental drug use, domestic violence and the suspected death of his eldest sibling as a young man from an overdose.

Blake’s defense counsel emphasized his upbringing, Judge Farr said, and requested a prison sentence of six to seven years, although the maximum sentence for armed robbery can be life in prison.

The Crown called for eight.

Judge Farr said the serious nature of Blake’s offending required as much consideration as his youth and opted for submission by the prosecution.

‘This was not an offense that occurred simply as a result of youthful immaturity or stupidity, but was the result of, as I say, painstaking and careful planning over what appears to be a fairly significant period of time.’

‘Taking all the issues into account, I am of the opinion that an eight-year prison sentence as the main sentence is the appropriate sentence.’

According to court documents, Blake will be eligible for parole on July 29, 2025, after serving 499 days in pretrial detention.