A man has sold his business and left Rotorua after a home invasion during which he was slashed with an axe.
In a victim impact statement, he described the attack as the most cowardly thing he had seen in his life.
Rotorua's Rangi Henry was jailed for four and a half years on an aggravated robbery charge relating to the incident last January 14, when he appeared for sentencing before Judge Chris McGuire in the Rotorua District Court.
The judge said Henry and an associate forced a window in a downstairs bedroom of the victim's house while he and his son were asleep upstairs. There was "bad blood" between Henry and the victim over a woman.
"You were both wearing dark coloured clothing and both had bandannas across your faces," Judge McGuire said.