{
  "id": 10879282,
  "title": "Hostage watches as notorious bank robber is sentenced 29 years later",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/hostage-watches-as-notorious-bank-robber-is-sentenced-29-years-later",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-30T06:47:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-30/alexander-robert-macdonald-sentence-hostage-bank-robberies/107003702"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A notorious Australian bank robber, Alexander Robert Macdonald, has been sentenced to an additional 29 years in prison, bringing his total to nearly 30 years behind bars. The 65-year-old, who is currently incarcerated at Borallon Correctional Centre in Queensland, will be eligible for parole in 2034. Macdonald was arrested in March and pleaded guilty in August to two counts of armed robbery and two charges of detaining someone for advantage without causing injury. He stole a combined total of $96,000 from two banks in regional New South Wales in 1996 and 1997, using a sawn-off, double-barrel shotgun during both heists. During the sentencing, Judge Michael King described Macdonald's motive as continuing his criminal lifestyle, noting that he had committed numerous other offenses that he did not bother to recount. Macdonald's criminal career began in the late 1970s, with a history of robbing banks, hotels and service stations across the country. His crimes included a notorious killing in Western Australia to assume someone else's identity and a string of robberies that netted him $240,000 in regional Queensland. In 1996, Macdonald advertised a mining job under a false name, Paul Jacobs, in an attempt to find someone resembling himself, ultimately murdering Ronald Joseph Williams to assume his identity. He was finally apprehended in Victoria in 1997 after a tip-off from the public. Macdonald had already been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum 25-year non-parole period for murder, armed robbery, and other offenses in 1998.",
  "summary": "Alexander Robert Macdonald, who shot a man to steal his identity in the 1990s while committing dozens of bank robberies, has been sentenced for more historical offences.",
  "key_points": [
    "Alexander Robert Macdonald sentenced to 29 more years in prison",
    "65-year-old Australian bank robber faces 29-year extension",
    "Eligible for parole in 2034 after 96k stolen in 1996-97"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The additional 29-year sentence solidifies Macdonald's long-term incarceration, reflecting the court's view that his continued criminal activities warrant extended punishment beyond his existing life sentence with a 25-year non-parole period.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}