Ututaonga appeared for sentence last week in Whangārei District Court, having pleaded guilty to the May 23, 2019, aggravated robbery and attempted aggravated robbery, and to an aggravated robbery on November 1, 2018, of GAS Tikipunga service station.
He was discharged of wounding with intent to injure, the Crown not proceeding with it.
Judge John McDonald jailed Ututaonga for four years, nine months.
The 2018 service station offence was carried out by Ututaonga and a mate who waited outside before pulling up their hoodies, donning bandanas, and arming themselves with pointed wooden stakes they pulled from the ground around a nearby tree.
They walked across a car park to the store and discovering no one was inside, Ututaonga's mate jumped the counter and began loading tobacco into a bag.
When a shop attendant appeared, Ututaonga threatened him with the stake and demanded he get on the ground but the man ran out of the shop to an office.
Ututaonga and his mate fled with $400 worth of tobacco.
Ututaonga was cleared of charges after a pre-trial application, but re-charged after his co-offender later came forward with a statement to police.
The 2019 offence involved two youths.
Targeting Super Liquor Tikipunga, the group – who were variously armed with fence posts and a knife – were foiled by the door check system and could not get in.
They tried to force the door but gave up and drove on to Super Liquor in Kamo.
Arriving there about 7.45pm, they entered through the front doors, one of the youths threatening a customer who was leaving. After robbing the place, the group found the front doors locked but managed to escape through a rear exit.
Later victim impact statements from staff involved recorded how terrified they were.
In submissions as to sentence discounts, counsel Matthew Ridgley said Ututaonga was a young man – aged 18 and 19 at the time of the offences – and had let himself down.
He had done some "serious growing up" during the past two years, eight months, when he had been on onerously restrictive electronically-monitored bail, and had only breached it a few times in minor ways.
He now had two children – one nearly three years old and a baby.
While on EM-bail Ututaonga had completed the Salvation Army's Bridge programme and Making Changes course.
A cultural report showed a clear nexus between Ututaonga's upbringing, his childhood thefts of food, early involvement in gangs, and this offending.
Two families Ututaonga was placed with as a youth were hopeful about his future but at 16, he returned to his whanau and went off the rails, Ridgley said.
Judge McDonald noted Ututaonga's pleas followed a sentence indication of imprisonment but no start or end points were specified.
The judge imposed the same sentence starting point – six and a half years – as set by the Court of Appeal in reviewing his sentencing of Ututaonga's adult co-offender in the 2019 incident.
For Ututaonga it was generous as his co-offender had not used any actual violence, the judge said.
The 2018 offence warranted a further three and a half years but the overall starting sentence was reduced for totality to eight years.
There were no factors requiring any additional uplift, the judge said.
The discount for Ututaonga's late guilty pleas was 10 per cent.
Youth discount was also limited to 10 per cent. As this was planned offending, Ututaonga could not claim the impulsivity of youth, the judge said.
He accepted the cultural report showed a deprived upbringing but it was not as bad as some so the discount for those factors was also limited to 10 per cent.
The judge gave Ututaonga further credit for his time on electronically-monitored bail, participation in programmes, and remorse.
