Two Adelaide men have been sent to prison for robbing of a woman in her 80s of her pokies winnings after a big night at the local pubs.
The men from Woodcroft in Adelaide’s south, 43-year-old Joobin Rafii and 42-year-old Nima Saboohian, were charged with robbery of the elderly victim, on 19 August, 2019.
Eva Donlan had gone to the Woodcroft Hotel that night to play the machines. After winning a $500 jackpot, she continued gambling until closing time.
CCTV footage was submitted at the trial, starting with images from the Hotel showing Rafii and Saboohian entering soon after midnight.
After looking around, they settled on a machine next to Donlan.
When the Hotel closed, Donlan determined to go to the nearby Lonsdale Hotel to continue playing, where she won a major $6k jackpot.
She left the premises around 4.30am, driving home to her unit at a caravan park in Woodcroft, where she stashed her winnings and went to bed.
More footage tendered during the trial, from a traffic camera, showed an SUV that turned out to belonging to Saboohian’s wife driving behind Donlan’s vehicle. And footage from the caravan park showed the pair entering in the SUV around 7am.
Donlan testified that a man knocked on her bedroom window dressed as a tradesperson and carrying tools, saying he needed access to the bathroom to attend to a plumbing issue.
She let the man, who was Saboohian, into the bathroom, and was rushed from behind by Rafii, who tackled and pinned her down. Saboohian ransacked the unit and the pair escaped with $5k in cash, which has not been recovered.
Facing trial on charges of serious criminal trespass and aggravated robbery, Saboohian pleaded guilty but Rafii went before a jury, which did not find favourably.
District Court Judge Michael Durrant called the men cowards, citing the seriousness of the crime and the victim’s courage fighting them, including hitting Rafii with her shoe.
“This was planned offending against an extremely vulnerable 82-year-old widow living alone.
“The courage displayed by her stands in stark contrast to the cowardice of your actions.”
The men were each sentenced to eight years, with non-parole periods greater than four years; Saboohian’s sentence was reduced for his early guilty plea. They will be eligible for parole in 2026.
Donlan, who is now 85, said the money wasn’t worth what she went through and would have readily given it to them had they admitted they knew about the winnings.
She hopes their sentences serve as a deterrent to any “other stupid person who might get ideas”.
