Hostage watches as notorious bank robber is sentenced 29 years later - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Brett Charlsley says he is relieved to see Alexander Robert Macdonald remain behind bars. (ABC Mid North Coast: Nakita Jager)

A prolific offender who was given a life sentence in the 1990s for murder and armed robberies around Australia will spend at least another five years in jail.

Alexander Robert Macdonald has been sentenced for stealing $96,000 from two banks in regional New South Wales in 1996 and 1997.

Macdonald will be eligible for parole in 2034.

Brett Charlsley still vividly remembers the moment he was taken hostage at gunpoint in a regional New South Wales bank in 1997.

The now 65-year-old was in the Port Macquarie District Court today, watching the man responsible for the terrifying ordeal receive his sentence.

Mr Charlsley said when Alexander Robert Macdonald walked into the courtroom for sentencing, he immediately recognised him.

In March this year, Macdonald was arrested and charged with historical offences while serving time at Borallon Correctional Centre in Queensland.

He pleaded guilty in August this year to two counts of robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon and two charges of detain for advantage without causing injury to the victim.

The court heard Macdonald stole a total of $96,000 from two banks at Coonabarabran and Laurieton in 1996 and 1997.

The bandit was armed with a sawn-off, double-barrel shotgun at both robberies.

Mr Charsley was working in the Laurieton branch when he was taken hostage, but was released when the offender reached his getaway car.

"The next day I was dwelling on it; I was thinking, what if he had of shot me?" he said.

During sentencing, Judge Michael King told the court Macdonald was motivated by his desire to continue his criminal lifestyle.

"There are so many [offences] that I have not bothered to count," Judge King said.

Alexander Robert Macdonald held up several bank tellers in a string of armed bank robberies. (Supplied: Virtual War Memorial Australia)

Macdonald began his life of crime in the late 1970s, when he started robbing banks, hotels and service stations around the country.

The court heard Macdonald killed a man in Western Australia to assume his identity, while he remained on the run after escaping prison in Queensland.

He remained one of Australia's most wanted for the next two years, until a tip-off by a member of the public led to his arrest in Victoria in June 1997.

During the period he was at large, Macdonald stole $240,000 by holding up banks in regional Queensland.

According to court documents, in January 1996, Macdonald put an ad in the newspaper under the fake name Paul Jacobs.

Macdonald was advertising a position in the mining industry and interviewed several applicants until he found someone who looked like himself.

In late February 1996, Macdonald took Ronald Joseph Williams to Cheynes Beach in Western Australia for a "fishing trip".

He shot Mr Williams twice in the head and buried his body in the sand dunes.

According to court documents, Macdonald admitted to murdering Mr Williams to assume his identity.

"It was something that had to be done," he told police.

"I simply shut off, turned off my emotions, and I did what I had to do."

Macdonald continued to make deposits into Mr Williams's bank account until June 1997, when he was arrested by the armed robbery squad in Victoria.

In 1998, Macdonald was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum 25-year non-parole period after he was found guilty of wilful murder, deprivation of liberty and armed robbery.

Macdonald was transferred from Western Australia to a jail in Queensland in 2021.

He was extradited to New South Wales this year.

Alexander Robert Macdonald was extradited from a Queensland prison on additional armed robbery charges in March 2026. (Supplied: NSW Police)

Judge King today sentenced Macdonald to a further eight years in jail, with a non-parole period of five years.

Mr Charlsley said the sentencing had provided some closure.

"I think looking at him, at how frail he was and the illnesses he has, it's an appropriate sentence," he said.

Macdonald, who represented himself in court, used the opportunity to reflect on the robberies.

"I do appreciate being confronted by a robber with a sawn-off shotgun has a significant impact to the victims," he said.

Macdonald will be eligible for parole in 2034.