Woolworths NZ says the unprovoked attack on a staff member at one of its Nelson stores was "appalling and upsetting". Shamah Riley has now admitted to assaulting a duty manager. Photo / Tracy Neal
A supermarket duty manager stocking shelves was left with facial injuries after a man punched him in the head, then kicked him as he lay on the ground, in a brutal surprise attack.
The assault has shaken the man’s employer, Woolworths NZ, which told NZME that despite its investment in a range of security measures, team members were still being threatened and hurt in broad daylight.
Shamah Riley has now pleaded guilty to the attack, which happened on the evening of January 20 this year.
Police said it came after he attacked a person he was staying with, when he had nowhere else to go, a few months earlier.
Then, the day after he was arrested for the supermarket assault and placed in custody, he tried to strangle another prison inmate over a piece of bread.
The manager had been restocking shelves at Woolworth’s Trafalgar Park in central Nelson when, without warning, he was punched and beaten.
Riley had approached and asked if he was putting the items “out”.
The manager explained he was putting items on shelves.
With his back turned, Riley punched him in the head with a closed fist, which knocked him to the ground.
Riley then kicked him twice in the head, splitting his eyebrow open.
Police said a staff member tried to intervene, and Riley stepped back, but then kicked a box out of the way and continued to kick the manager as he lay on the ground.
As the manager tried to get up, Riley struck him again in the head with a closed fist.
He was left with a deep cut and a swollen face.
Woolworths NZ head of health, safety and wellbeing, Denva Wren, said the unprovoked attack was appalling.
“The increasing level of abuse our team members are facing daily is completely unacceptable and hugely upsetting.
“We take the safety of our team members very seriously, and they should be able to come to work and feel safe.”
Wren said it was unfortunate that staff too often found themselves in harm’s way when they were “just doing their jobs”.
The police arrived and arrested Riley at the store’s front entrance. He tried to run away, but was quickly caught.
Riley, who has just turned 26, has now pleaded guilty in the Nelson District Court to several related charges, plus others that occurred around the same time.
He appeared in court via video link from prison, where he was being held on remand, and admitted charges in relation to the supermarket attack, including two charges of assault with intent to injure, injuring with intent to injure with reckless disregard, common assault and escaping police custody.
Riley moved to the Tasman region in September last year and was staying with a person known to him when he attacked that person.
They were together at an address on the morning of September 15, with Riley having arrived the day before.
Police said Riley was “acting erratically” and began removing items from the bedroom.
The victim confronted him as he tried to remove a mattress, and without warning Riley punched her in the back with enough force to knock her off her feet.
He continued to “rampage around the house”, throwing items outside and punching a wall and two doors, damaging both.
He was arrested and charged with assault on a person in a family relationship and wilful damage.
Riley then attacked the supermarket manager, and while he was in custody for that, he attacked another inmate as the pair ate dinner.
He has now also admitted charges of strangulation and assault with intent to injure, after the attack on the fellow prisoner on the evening of January 21 this year.
Riley and the other prisoner were in the dayroom area of the cellblock having dinner when the victim asked for more bread.
Riley told him he would fight him for it, which the victim took as a joke and laughed it off.
“Out of nowhere, the defendant punched the victim in the head with a closed fist,” police said.
As the victim got up to try to defend himself, Riley got him in a headlock, then dropped his weight backwards, forcing the victim’s head on to the concrete floor.
Riley held the lock around the victim’s neck for about 25 seconds, restricting his breathing.
Police said it took two officers to loosen Riley’s grip on the victim, who was left with cuts and concussion symptoms.
Riley has been further remanded in custody for sentencing in November.
In April 2024, Woolworths rolled out body cameras at all its 191 stores as part of staff safety measures, citing a 75% increase in physical assaults and 148% increase in “serious reportable events” in the three years prior.
Wren said the company would continue to work closely with police to combat any sort of abuse towards its team members.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.