Fear of abusive partner led woman to rob shop, court told

A woman with a knife robbed a Rotorua store because she feared her abusive partner's reaction to her losing the household shopping money, a court has been told.

Denise Catherine Carson, 32, was yesterday sentenced in the Auckland District Court to 12 months' home detention for the aggravated robbery of Lizzie's Mart in Amohau St in November.

Carson, a mother of three who now lives in Auckland, was arrested after she was stopped from fleeing by two passersby.

She had gone into the shop about 9.15am on November 8 with a bandanna around her face.

She approached the 56-year-old storekeeper with a steak knife, demanded money and grabbed cash in $5 notes and coins.

Prosecutor Simon Waalkens said the storekeeper described the incident as the most traumatic of her life. She remained affected by what had happened and had closed down the shop, losing the income she got from it.

Defence counsel Nikki Utting said the offending was out of character for Carson, who had no previous convictions.

She said the incident had occurred in the context of a violent 13-year relationship with her partner, from whom she had since taken steps to distance herself.

"It seemed she would have preferred to be caught by the police rather than return home without the money."

Judge Eddie Paul took into account Carson's early guilty plea and her personal circumstances at the time of the incident.

He said her determination to carry out the offence and to get away appeared to be limited.

- NZPA