A murderer who robbed two banks while armed with a sawn-off shotgun has faced two of his victims as their 30-year quest for justice draws to a close.
Alexander Robert Macdonald came face-to-face with two former bank employees in Port Macquarie District Court on Wednesday as he tried to avoid further time behind bars.
The 76-year-old has been in custody for more than half his life for his lengthy and varied criminal history, including multiple armed robberies and murder.
But he is staring at the prospect of another 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to lucrative armed robberies of two regional NSW banks in the late 1990s.
After breaking out of a Queensland jail while serving a 22-year sentence for armed robbery, the wanted man entered a Commonwealth Bank branch in Coonabarabran in October 1996.
He was wearing a balaclava, gloves, and carried a sawn-off shotgun that he pointed towards bank staff, according to agreed facts tendered to the court.
After they put nearly $19,000 in cash into his bag, Macdonald grabbed a 22-year-old woman and used her as a human shield to safely reach his motorbike.
"No alarms, no police. I will let her go when I am free," he said before letting her go without injury.
About two months later, Macdonald donned sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, picked up a sawn-off shotgun and entered the ANZ branch at Laurieton on the NSW mid-north coast.
Staff this time handed over $78,000 before the career criminal again took a hostage to protect his escape route.
"Walk quickly but don't attract attention to yourself," Macdonald told the 36-year-old.
The man, who was unharmed during the robbery, attended court in Port Macquarie on Wednesday to see his captor with his own eyes.
Another bank employee who had been victimised by Macdonald also faced the court, flanked by her family.
Acting Judge Michael King acknowledged their attendance, saying he was fully aware of the impact armed robberies have on bank employees.
"I do appreciate that being confronted by an armed robber with a sawn-off shotgun has serious consequences for victims," he told the court.
Macdonald, who is representing himself, urged the court not to jail him, pointing to the time that has lapsed since the offences were committed and the remote possibility of reoffending.
"It is most doubtful that public good would be in any way served by extension of the time already spent in custody," he told the court.
"Nor could it be fairly said that such would contribute in any way to a process of rehabilitation."
He said he had unsuccessfully tried to be transferred to a NSW prison and reached out to police to bring to a close "an unfortunate chapter of my life".
The prosecutor conceded Macdonald's age and poor health were factors to be considered, but said there was no evidence that he could serve a non-custodial sentence in an appropriate residence with appropriate support.
The 76-year-old will be sentenced on Wednesday afternoon.
The pair of bank hold-ups followed Macdonald's most violent and cunning crime.
Soon after breaking out of the Queensland prison, he moved to Melbourne and placed a newspaper ad purportedly for a general hand to work in the West Australian mining industry.
After interviewing candidates, he and Ronald Joseph Williams began driving west on February 25, 1996.
But Williams, 47, never made it to the mines.
Macdonald later confessed to shooting Mr Williams twice in the head and burying him on Cheyne's Beach, near Albany, so he could steal his identification.
He served 25 years in WA prison before being forced to return to Queensland to serve the 10 years remaining on the sentence he cut short in his 1995 escape.
When his Queensland sentence expired in March, Macdonald was extradited to NSW to face court for the Coonabarabran and Laurieton hold-ups.
