Alexander Macdonald faces bank robbery victims in court

Alexander Robert Macdonald, a 76-year-old career criminal, appeared in Port Macquarie District Court where he faced two of his former victims from armed robberies committed in the late 1990s. Macdonald, who has a history including murder and multiple armed robberies, is facing a potential additional 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to the robberies.

In October 1996, after escaping from a Queensland prison, Macdonald robbed a Commonwealth Bank in Coonabarabran using a sawn-off shotgun. During the incident, he used a 22-year-old woman as a human shield to reach his motorbike, though he released her without injury. Approximately two months later, he robbed an ANZ branch in Laurieton, taking $78,000 and using a 36-year-old hostage to facilitate his escape.

The victims attended the court proceedings to confront Macdonald as the legal process regarding these decades-old crimes nears its conclusion.