Robyn Marie Swan, William John Abra sentenced to jail for Bellata armed robbery, Moree police pursuit in Moree District Court

Robyn Marie Swan, 29, of Moree, will have to serve at least one year behind bars for her role in the 2017 armed hold-up and police pursuit, while William John Abra, 27, of Warialda, will be locked up for a minimum of 21 months after being sentenced in Moree District Court on Monday, March 26.

According to police, the pair robbed a Bellata service station about 2.30am on Friday, May 12, 2017 and stole a quantity of cash and other goods.

READ MORE: Pair refused bail after armed robbery

They were intercepted in a stolen vehicle in Moree that morning which sparked a lengthy police pursuit before it crashed into a fence in Warialda. 

Police called in the dog squad who later tracked Abra and Swan about an hour later hiding in the showground area.

They were arrested and taken to Moree Police Station and questioned by investigators before being charged and refused bail. 

Officers recovered a quantity of suspected stolen goods from the robbery in the car.

The manhunt also forced the Warialda school into lockdown with parents told not to attend and a planned assembly abandoned.

Swan was sentenced to six months imprisonment for knowingly being carried in a stolen vehicle and an additional 21 months behind bars for robbery armed with an offensive weapon, to be served as a two-year aggregate sentence with a non-parole period for 12 months.

She will be eligible for parole as early as May this year.

Abra, who was behind the wheel of the stolen vehicle, was handed six months imprisonment for knowingly driving a stolen vehicle, three years for robbery armed with an offensive weapon and seven months for police pursuit and non-stop driving dangerously.

He was given an aggregate sentence of three years and six months with a non-parole period of one year and nine months.

Abra will be eligible for parole in February 2019.