Police charged a 17-year-old boy with robbery before he was granted bail in the ACT Childrens Court. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A 17-year-old boy allegedly committed an “immensely violent” robbery at knife-point when at a Canberra bus stop two months ago.
He allegedly approached a woman sitting with her mother at the Belconnen bus interchange around 8 pm on 13 November 2025, an ACT Policing spokesperson said.
It is alleged he demanded cash, but when the woman refused, he pulled out a 30 cm knife and used it to threaten her.
“A short struggle then occurred with the teen allegedly fleeing the scene with a small bag containing cash,” the police spokesperson said.
Police spoke to the two women and reviewed CCTV before claiming they identified the 17-year-old, who legally cannot be named due to his age, as the culprit.
He was arrested on Saturday night in Bonner (3 January), then faced the ACT Childrens Court today (5 January) where he was handed one count of robbery.
The court heard he was accused of stealing $300 cash, plus bank cards and a driver’s licence.
Prosecutor Daniel Bamber opposed bail, describing the allegations as “immensely violent” and claiming they showed the extreme actions the teen was willing to go to in order to obtain money.
He claimed the teen represented a risk that was far too great to the community.
But Edward Chen of Legal Aid argued there was a particularly weak prosecution case against his client.
He said the case seemed to hinge on police identifying his client as the alleged robber, but the documents in the matter did not state who recognised his client as the offender.
“There may be a very real issue to be tried here,” Mr Chen said.
He also noted the teen was supported by several family members in the courtroom.
Magistrate Jane Campbell accepted the allegations were serious, but said she would grant bail on numerous conditions, including the teen live with his father, be supervised by authorities and not contact the alleged victims.
“Yeah, I understand,” the teen said when read the conditions.
The matter was adjourned until late January. No plea was entered.
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