Teen sentenced for his part in Taranaki ram raid and petrol station hold-up

GAS Urenui was robbed in December by three armed and masked teens. Photo / Supplied

A teen who claims to have “just followed his mates” when he ram-raided a store and then held up a petrol station now has a criminal record, all for the sake of two Moro bars.

The offender, who has permanent name suppression, took part in the ram-raid of a New Plymouth supermarket on December 5 last year, and then five days later he was one of three who robbed a petrol station while masked and armed.

He appeared in the New Plymouth District Court on Friday for sentencing on a charge of aggravated robbery and one of aggravated burglary.

While defence lawyer Nathan Bourke made an application to have his client discharged without conviction on both charges, Judge Gregory Hikaka found the offending was so serious that convictions were warranted.

The court heard the teen, then 17 and armed with a knife, was a passenger in a stolen car that was reversed through the front of Fitzroy’s Seven Buy Supermarket around 1am.

He was with two of his mates at the time. They were 15 and 19.

The vehicle stopped in the store next to display racks, preventing the driver from getting out, but the teen exited and ran to the counter with the knife in his hand.

Moments later, he returned to the car and they drove away. No property was taken from the store but the damage caused was extensive.

The trio then destroyed the stolen vehicle by setting fire to it.

One of the teens was sentenced in the New Plymouth District Court on Friday. Photo / Tara Shaskey

When the three met up again on December 10, the teen was driving his own vehicle and had his co-offenders as passengers.

They came across a car parked on the road which the co-offenders then smashed their way into, started, and drove off in.

The teen followed the two in his car and they all headed to Waitara. There, the teen parked his car and jumped into the stolen vehicle and the three drove to Urenui.

Around 4pm, they pulled on to the forecourt of the GAS service station, masked themselves and went inside.

The teen was armed with a knife, the oldest of the group had a claw hammer and the youngest had a screwdriver.

A 45-year-old woman was the sole attendant at the time and was behind the counter when they entered.

The 19-year-old tapped his hammer on the counter and was abusive to the worker as he demanded money and pushed her.

The trio went behind the counter where they attempted to steal cigarettes but found the cabinet was empty. The 15-year-old then grabbed the till and cash drawer before leaving the shop.

As the oldest left, he grabbed two packets of chips and the teen pocketed two Moro bars.

They travelled back to Waitara where they left the stolen vehicle and got back into the teen’s car.

At the sentencing, the owner of the supermarket told the court, through his victim impact statement, that the ram raid had been “horrible”. He had owned the store for 11 years and, shortly after the incident, he broke his lease and closed his business.

The crime influenced his decision to close because he felt it was too dangerous to continue working in the shop, he said.

The petrol station attendant had also left her job.

Her victim impact statement told the court the hold-up had left her fearful of the role. She said the incident had “crippled” her life and she was left shaken and anxious.

In advancing his application for a discharge without conviction, Bourke argued it would do more harm than good to sentence his client, who is now 18 and employed.

The consequences he would face in having a conviction included the potential impact on future employment prospects and travel overseas.

But if the application was declined, Bourke submitted there was a myriad of discounts, totalling around 70 per cent, available to the teen.

Those included for his youth, mental health issues, remorse, his guilty pleas, time spent on restricted bail, reparation, and prospects of rehabilitation.

The offending was “youthful impulsiveness” influenced by his mental health issues for which he was unmedicated at the time, Bourke submitted.

The teen has been diagnosed with psychosis and schizophrenia and is subject to a Compulsory Treatment Order, which the court heard will be extended.

Crown prosecutor Holly Bullock opposed the application, submitting the offending was serious.

There were a number of aggravating factors, she said, including the use of a weapon, a high degree of premeditation, and a significant impact on the victims.

She said the consequences of a conviction were not out of all proportion to the gravity of the teen’s offending.

Bullock argued he should be sentenced and a starting point of seven years was appropriate.

Judge Hikaka said a pre-sentence report assessed the teen as being a high risk of harm and a low risk of reoffending in a similar manner.

The offender told the report writer he had “just followed his mates and whatever they did, he did too”.

He said he “only” armed himself during the hold-up in an effort to scare the woman and he had no intention of using the knife.

The ram raid was “dumb”, he told the report writer.

“We didn’t even take the till. We were so stupid and didn’t plan it well.”

He has since stopped talking to his co-offenders because he didn’t get any money from the petrol station robbery.

“They screwed me over ...”

The teen spent two weeks in a youth justice facility which he said had scared him.

He attended restorative justice where he expressed remorse towards his victims, a report stated. He told them the gravity of his crimes had begun to sink in following his arrest.

During the conference he also referenced taking the Moro bars from the petrol station, stating when he saw his co-offender taking the chips he thought: “[I] may as well grab something ...”.

After considering the application for discharge without conviction, Judge Hikaka said the gravity of the offending was serious but so were the direct and indirect consequences he would face with convictions.

“That means there’s more of a balance there rather than a disproportional impact of consequence in which case I decline the application.”

In sentencing the teen, the judge took a starting point of six years before applying 50 per cent credit for a number of mitigating factors including his guilty pleas, youth, mental health issues and previous good character.

A further discount for rehabilitative prospects and reparation was then applied in order to get the sentence within the electronically-monitored range.

But while the judge said an electronically monitored sentence was appropriate, he instead sentenced the teen to two years of intensive supervision and ordered him to pay $1500 reparation.

This was so he could capitalise on the “positive prospects of successful rehabilitation”, Judge Hikaka said.

He then granted the teen’s application for name suppression.

The 15-year-old co-offender has been dealt with in the Youth Court in relation to the offending, while the 19-year-old remains before the District Court.