A teenage girl has faced court after sneaking up on a female health worker, dragging her by the hair and stealing her belongings.
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The 16-year-old cannot be identified due to her age.
She appeared in Orange Children's Court on Thursday, November 16 to face charges of riding in a stolen car, dishonestly obtaining property and robbery in company.
When it came to the robbery, police prosecutor Sergeant Beau Riley said the girl was the "main player".
"She's violent in this," he said.
Magistrate David Day said it was a serious crime and an adult co-accused is facing the district court for their role in the offending.
Mr Day was particularly concerned about the vulnerability of workers at the health campus and put it on record that his wife used to work out there.
"Health workers rather are vulnerable in insecure areas like that," Mr Day said.
"There's just no security.
"I have personal knowledge of the safety concerns."
According to document's submitted to the court, the girl and an 18-year-old female co-accused were passengers in a stolen car on Thursday, June 22.
The Mazda station wagon had been stolen from an address in Orange overnight between June 19 and 20.
The teenager and co-accused were picked up about 5am on June 22 and a third offender drove them around Orange in the stolen car.
About 6.19am the stolen car was driven to the EG petrol station on Hanrahan Place and the teenager filled it with 45.35 litres of E10 petrol to the value of $81.49.
She made no attempt to pay and got back into the vehicle which then left the station.
About 7am they drove to the Bloomfield hospital grounds where they stopped a short distance from the victim's vehicle as she arrived for work.
The victim got out of her car and carried her laptop bag over her shoulder and walked towards her office building.
The teenager got out the vehicle and approached the victim while the co-accused stood about three metres from the victim.
The teenager then grabbed the victim by her hair at the back of her head, pulled her forward towards the ground and began to drag her around.
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The victim screamed during the ordeal and suffered cuts to her right knee, left-hand knuckles and her glasses were forced against her left eye from which she also suffered a cut under her left eye.
The teenager grabbed the laptop bag from the victim's shoulder and she and the co-accused got back into the Mazda and left the hospital grounds.
The bag contained a Dell work laptop computer, work Apple iPhone, personal Google Pixel phone, blue leather purse containing personal cards, NSW Health Identification and other work-related documents.
Police saw the stolen Mazda travelling west on Summer Street about 7.19am.
Health workers rather are vulnerable in insecure areas like that.
- Magistrate David Day
The vehicle stopped outside the TAB in Summer Street and the teenager got out of the vehicle, saw the police nearby and yelled out to the co-accused and other offender.
They all got out of the vehicle and ran in separate directions.
A police officer chased the teenager across Summer Street and the co-accused threw a mobile phone at the officer and the police lost sight of the co-accused at the corner of Peisley and Summer Street.
However, the police found them again outside Anytime Fitness in Byng Street and arrested them.
The stolen Mazda was seized and still contained the victim's laptop bag, mobile phones and NSW Health ID.
It was towed for forensic examination.
Because it was a children's court matter there was a greater focus on rehabilitation and diverting the girl away from future crimes.
Mr Day said the violent robbery was the most serious of the offences but decided not to send her into full-time custody.
"It does require a control order albeit fully-suspended for its duration," Mr Day said.
The suspended control order will be for 12 months from November 16 and the teenager will be supervised in that time.
For riding in the stolen car, the teenager was released on 12 months of supervised probation without a conviction.
She was also placed on a two-year good behaviour bond for stealing the petrol.
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