Charles Wilson, 41, was jailed when he appeared for sentencing in the Hamilton District Court for his part in the aggravated robbery of Hell Pizza Beerescourt on September 30, 2022. Photo / Belinda Feek
Charles Wilson, 41, was jailed when he appeared for sentencing in the Hamilton District Court for his part in the aggravated robbery of Hell Pizza Beerescourt on September 30, 2022. Photo / Belinda Feek
A prolific burglar, on electronicallymonitored bail after breaking into a string of businesses, was busted for an aggravated robbery after leaving a police scanner - with his DNA on it - at the scene.
Charles Wilson tried to convince a jury that he was only in the vicinity of HellPizza Beerescourt, Hamilton, because he was buying cannabis.
He’d also tried to claim that his DNA was found on the scanner because he’d been selling them some months earlier.
But, as Judge Stephen Clark told him in the Hamilton District Court on Monday, “Clearly, the jury didn’t believe you”.
Wilson, 41, was ultimately jailed for two years and seven months, a shorter time to be served on top of his current three-year and four-month term for a spate of city burglaries in 2021.
‘Are you ready?’
Wilson unsuccessfully defended the aggravated robbery charge for his more recent crime during a two-day jury trial in the Hamilton District Court in March this year.
Wilson and his co-offender, who was never identified, were first spotted on CCTV walking towards the store at about 10.55pm on September 30, 2022.
“One turned to the other to say, ‘Are you ready?’, and they entered the pizza store,” the judge said.
Both men were wearing face masks, gloves, and hoodies.
One was also armed with a crowbar and held it up threateningly while the other took the cash register.
CCTV footage on Victoria Street showed the offenders running across the street away from Hell Pizza.
Charles Wilson, 41, his part in the aggravated robbery of Hell Pizza Beerescourt on September 30, 2022. Photo / Belinda Feek
Wilson was on electronicallymonitored bail at the time, and the jury had to decide whether Wilson was one of the two offenders.
Although the Crown case was based on circumstantial evidence, it included movements uncovered from his monitored bracelet.
It revealed that he left his house at 10.29pm and returned at 11.09pm.
A Corrections staff member also testified that Wilson had been “foiling, or interfering, with his tag”.
Most important was the ESR evidence that came from a police scanner that was left on the counter and the DNA that was linked to Wilson.
“That was extremely strong scientific support ... that it originated from you,” the judge said.
Wilson - who suffered a stroke while in custody on the charge - chose to give evidence, and while he admitted leaving his property, he denied foiling his bracelet.
He said he went to buy cannabis at a Fairfield property, and gave specific details travelling from Bader, along Ulster St, and across the Fairfield Bridge and back again.
As for the DNA on the scanner, Wilson said he knew a lot about police scanners and was selling them to help raise funds for his daughter.
‘The store was targeted’
Crown solicitor Lexie Glaser said the armed robbery involved a high degree of premeditation and targeted the store, knowing that it was likely to have a decent amount of cash.
Neither the store owner nor the staff wanted to provide victim impact statements, so it was unclear exactly how much money was stolen, but the till carried a $200 float.
Complicating the sentencing slightly was the fact that Wilson was currently serving jail time on the burglary charges.
‘He’s a grandfather now’
Defence counsel Melissa James pushed for what’s called a totality adjustment - or a shorter jail term - as although the offending happened when he was in the community, charges weren’t laid until he was in custody.
