A former footy star accused of shooting three people during a violent armed robbery has faced court more than 30 years after the alleged crime.
Garry Sullivan, 78, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday, 32 years after he allegedly confronted two Armaguard employees after they collected the weekend takings from a cinema at the Chadstone shopping centre on May 16, 1994.
The former rugby league player was not required to speak during the brief hearing and no details of his alleged crimes were read to the court.
But his lawyer Felix Best told the court that Sullivan suffered from a diagnosis of coronary artery disease, mouth cancer and coeliac disease, and hadn’t eaten for a few days due to a lack of gluten-free meals available in police custody.
Weeks prior to his arrest, Victoria Police announced they had reopened the investigation into the armed robbery after receiving new intelligence.
During a press conference, Detective Inspector Adam Tilley revealed that the at-the-time unknown offender ordered the guards to ‘get down, drop the money’ and then shot one of the guards in the right ankle, and the bullet ricocheted into the other guard’s shoe.
Garry Sullivan is pictured in a mug shot. The former rugby league star has been charged with allegedly shooting three men in a 1994 armed robbery
On Monday a Melbourne court heard that the former Newtown star (pictured during his playing days) has coronary artery disease, mouth cancer and coeliac disease
Pictured: Police attending the scene of the 1994 armed robbery at Chadstone shopping centre
The offender then took the cash-filled bags and stole the two Armaguard revolvers, Det Insp Tilley said.
A 40-year-old Doveton man who pursued the fleeing gunman was also shot in the leg, shattering his femur.
Carl Benjaminsen, the son of the now-deceased Armaguard employee Sverre Benjaminsen, said at the time that his father carried the impact of the incident through the rest of his life and the family were keen to ‘finally see justice done’.
Sullivan did not apply for bail on Monday, and was remanded in custody to appear via videolink at Melbourne Magistrates Court on October 13.
