Former rugby league World Cup hero Garry Leslie Sullivan, accused of orchestrating a 1994 Armaguard truck heist in Melbourne, is battling significant health problems while in custody, a court has heard.
The 78-year-old made his first appearance at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday after being extradited from Southport, Queensland, last week. Dressed in a black long-sleeve T-shirt with a grey beard, Sullivan sat quietly in the dock and did not speak.
Sullivan faces nine charges, including armed robbery, intentionally causing injury, and theft, over the alleged robbery of an Armaguard vehicle and the shooting of three men in 1994. Police allege that on the morning of May 16, two Armaguard employees collected weekend takings from a cinema at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Malvern East. As they left, a man wearing a fawn balaclava and carrying a handgun and cardboard box confronted them around 11:40 am.
“Get down, drop the money,” the victims were allegedly ordered. One employee was shot in the leg after failing to comply, with the bullet ricocheting into the other guard’s shoe. A 40-year-old bystander who followed the masked man out of the parking structure was also shot in the leg. The suspect fled with two bags of cash but dropped a cardboard box containing one bag, an Armaguard employee’s firearm, and other items.
The charges follow a May 17 announcement by Victoria Police that the cold case was reopened due to “new intelligence.” In court, prosecutors requested a three-month adjournment to prepare their case, citing the need to transcribe recordings from a listening device and telephone intercepts. Charges were formally laid on May 21.
Sullivan’s lawyer raised health concerns, including cancer, coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, and celiac disease. The court was told Sullivan “hasn’t eaten in a number of days” due to a lack of gluten-free food in custody.
Sullivan, a former Newtown player, was part of Australia’s winning World Cup squad in 1970. He was remanded in custody and will return to court on October 13.
