A Cranbourne North teenager has been sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment and a further 15-month community corrections order after pleading guilty to attempted aggravated burglary, affray, and theft offences tied to a violent, gang-related clash at a Narre Warren service station.
Mai Mut, 19, was sentenced in Melbourne’s County Court on Thursday, 10 July, with Judge Marks acknowledging the severity of the offending while also considering Mut’s young age, history of trauma, and signs of rehabilitation during remand.
“What happened in this period was that a group of six, including yourself [and others] arrived at the Coles Express, wearing hoodies and face coverings,” Judge Marks said.
The offences to which Mut was charged stemmed from a series of escalating events in late May 2024 between two groups of young men known to police as associated youth gangs.
In the background to the offending, between 26 and 27 May 2024, an Audi SUV was stolen from an address in Beaumaris.
The following day, between 27 and 28 May, a second Audi SQ5 SUV was stolen from an address in Hampton East.
On 29 May, Mut and five co-offenders, aged between 15 to 18, were caught on CCTV arriving at a Bunnings Warehouse in Narre Warren North.
Dressed in hoodies and face coverings, they inquired about machetes and left minutes later with a long axe visibly placed in one of the two stolen SUVs.
Roughly 20 minutes later, three members of a different and rival group rushed into the Shell Coles Express nearby on Narre Warren North Road, shouting for staff to lock the doors and to call the police.
All three members of the rival group were armed, including one with a machete and two with gas canisters that were picked up from outside the store.
Shortly after, Mut’s group arrived (a total of six, including the accused) armed with an assortment of weapons, including a machete in Mut’s hands, as well as hatchets, poles and planks among the others.
“You were armed with various weapons, including a pole, an axe, hatchets, knives, machetes, a wooden plank; you personally were armed with a long machete.
“Your offending was deliberate, involved planning and preparation, and the attack at the Coles Express was a terrifying incident.”
They used the tools to smash the station’s glass doors while taunting those inside, with two in Mut’s group seen to be recording the attack.
CCTV and witness reports detailed the sounds of glass shattering, yelling, and the sight of terrified customers locking themselves in back rooms.
The attack lasted around two and a half minutes.
After initially fleeing, the group returned minutes later and attempted to ram the store with one of the stolen Audis, only to be blocked by a bollard.
The car left the scene again before police arrived and arrested the rival group once they emerged from the service station.
My midday, five African males in similar clothing to the assailants walked from The Strand in Narre Warren South to Casey Central Shopping Centre, where they entered a restaurant called Fat Jak’s.
At 12:25pm on the same day, police officers attended the restaurant and arrested the five assailants, including Mut.
A machete with Mut’s DNA and dried blood on the blade and hilt was found tucked into his pants.
Further weapons and blood traces were recovered from the stolen vehicle parked nearby.
No victim impact statements were submitted to the court, but the prosecution noted the incident had a profound emotional effect on staff and customers.
One staff member was hospitalised with chest pains under stress.
This was Mut’s first time sentenced as an adult.
The judge ordered that, following his release, Mut be placed under strict supervision, undergo drug and alcohol treatment, mental health assessment, and avoid all contact with co-offenders.
The sentencing principles considered by Judge Marks included deliberate and group-based violence, the use of weapons, public and bystander terror, and a long youth offending history.
Mitigating principles that were considered include an early guilty plea, youthfulness and PTSD, family and community support (including family letters and a letter from the AfriAus Care CEO) and rehabilitation during his remand period.
Mut was 18 years old during the offence, having lived in Cranbourne North with his mother and siblings, with whom he had constant contact during the same remand period.
Mut’s home in Cranbourne North was firebombed by a rival gang, with the Youth Justice Report stating that the nature of his and his group’s offending was retaliatory in nature.
He was also assaulted during his time in youth detention, which, after he was diagnosed with PTSD.
The judge also took into consideration the strong family ties aforementioned during the death of his cousin after a shooting in Melbourne CBD.
Specific conditions of Mut’s CCO include mental health and substance abuse treatment, non-association with the co-accused, supervision by Cranbourne Community Correction, as well as judicial monitoring.
He was also disqualified from driving for three months and formally credited with 407 days already served.
