As net closed in after 30 years, accused Chadstone shooter said he better ‘take the medicine’, court hears

A great-grandfather and former rugby league player was allegedly tied to a violent Armaguard hold-up at Chadstone Shopping Centre after 30 years by DNA on a glove left at the scene by the gunman.As the net closed on Garry Sullivan, 78, he was captured on a listening device telling his wife it was time to “take the medicine”, a court has heard.Garry Sullivan during his extradition to Victoria.Nine NewsSullivan was arrested in Queensland in May and extradited to Victoria after detectives reopened the 1994 case that left three people with gunshot wounds and $80,000 in cash missing.Melbourne Magistrates’ Court was told on Wednesday that Sullivan had escaped jail and was on the run when he allegedly used a pistol to hold up two Armaguard employees on May 16, 1994.The court heard Sullivan allegedly shot one officer in the ankle, with the bullet ricocheting off him and through the right foot of a second guard. A third person, a bystander, was shot in the thigh as they attempted to follow the shooter to get his vehicle registration.The court heard that in the lead-up to the Chadstone incident, Sullivan and his stepfather had netted more than $3.2 million from robberies committed in the ’80s and ’90s, and were jailed for 20 years.The scene where two security guards were shot in May 1994 after being ambushed beside their Armaguard truck in a daylight heist that spilled into the busy Chadstone shopping centre.Nine NewsBut Sullivan, the court heard, had cut a hole in a wire fence at the prison and escaped. During his time on the run he allegedly travelled to Chadstone.Sullivan was eventually rearrested in South Australia and locked up until 2005. He had been living in the community ever since, the prosecution said.But court documents allege he was doing so with unexplained wealth. Sullivan is also charged with dealing in the proceeds of crime, about $366,000 police allege was laundered through his Tabcorp betting account between February 2020 and May 2026.Sullivan in his playing days.Of the money, $218,000 was withdrawn as Sullivan gambled prolifically while living in housing commission accommodation and on the pension.The court heard that when police reopened the Chadstone case, they compared a DNA sample of Sullivan that was on file with the glove from the scene, and it was “a billion to one” match.They then laid “bait” and captured him on listening devices correctly identifying to his wife the type of lead used to shoot the guards, the court was told.“I’m just going to sit here and wait for them to come,” he allegedly told her.“I better take the medicine. You know what I mean.”Sverre Benjaminsen, one of two security guards shot on May 16, 1994.Nine NewsSullivan applied to be freed on bail, which the prosecution opposed, comparing the man with ailing health to police killer Dezi Freeman, fearing he too could escape police apprehension once more.“It’s not that hard for somebody to abscond and if one has the means to do so, and there’s enough at stake,” prosecutor Francesca Holmes said.Defence lawyer Matthew Cramer said his client was a father of four and grandfather of nine, a reformed family man who posed no risk of flight.His daughter, Kim Robertson, said her father had lived with his partner, Heather, for 49 years and had coeliac disease, pointing to a fall and 12-kilogram weight loss since his arrest.“He’s a regular granddad, he’s a regular dad to us,” she said.The court heard Sullivan had mouth cancer and heart disease, and his age added to his vulnerability in custody.Any alleged risk of flight was fanciful, Cramer said, with Sullivan having lived countless lives, including as a rugby league star, in the ’60s and ’70s, before his criminal notoriety began.“We’re not Dezi Freeman,” Cramer said. “He’s now a dedicated family man.”Magistrate Patrick Southey agreed that Sullivan’s dedicated career as an armed robber in the ’80s and ’90 was “last millennium” and his fall from grace decades ago.He reminded those in the court of the presumption of innocence but maintained exceptional circumstances had not been established and refused bail.Sullivan is expected to return to court in October.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.From our partners