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Home / New Zealand

Man who ran over co-offender in botched Taupō aggravated robbery jailed

Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
By Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
News Director, Rotorua Daily Post·Rotorua Daily Post·
27 Jan, 2021 11:55 PM4 mins to read

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Rotorua courthouse. Photo / File

Rotorua courthouse. Photo / File

A man who accidentally ran over the foot of his co-offender before abandoning him in a botched aggravated robbery in Taupo has been sent to prison.

Christopher Young was sentenced today in the Rotorua District Court to 18 and a half months' prison on four charges - unlawfully being in a motor vehicle, theft, aggravated assault and use of an imitation firearm.

The charges relate to an incident on July 8, 2019 in which Young and his co-offender attempted a watch heist at Taupo's Pilbrows Watchmakers.

In sentencing Young, Judge Tony Snell relayed the details of the offending.

After stealing a car at Wairakei, Young and his co-offender drove into the Taupo township, which was highly populated at the time due to it being the school holidays.

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Young's co-offender entered Pilbrows Watchmakers with a black "shopping basket" and, using a small crowbar, smashed one of the store's glass display cabinets, scooping out the watches and placing them in his basket.

The 11 watches taken, some of which have been described as rare, had a collective value of $36,000.

The offender then ran out of the store, being chased by the owner, Rowan Pilbrow.

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Pilbrow tackled the thief and both fell to the ground. Members of the public came to Pilbrow's aid as he attempted to keep the offender from running off.

Young, in the stolen vehicle, pointed an imitation gun at Pilbrow, threatening to shoot him and run him over if he did not let the co-offender go.

Young then reversed at speed towards the pair who were struggling on the ground, in an attempt to hit Pilbrow.

However, Pilbrow twisted out of the way and Young instead ran over the foot of his co-offender.

Pilbrow's father and the store's manager, Ian Pilbrow opened the door to the car and Young turned the imitation gun on him, threatening to shoot him as well.

As more people came to the scene, Young drove off, abandoning his co-offender.

Snell described the crime as "utterly brazen" and that it was "a matter of luck there were not more injuries or more significant injuries".

He said it was clear Young's offending had profound emotional and psychological effects on his victims, as evidenced by their victim impact statements.

One of the victims, Ian Pilbrow, read his victim impact statement to the court.

He said he would never be able to get rid of the image of a gun being pointed at him and his son.

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"I really thought I was going to lose him which is not something any father should contemplate.

"I've never had a gun pointed at me before, I thought I was going to die that day.

"My life has been severely impacted by this. I am unable to sleep properly, and when I do manage to sleep, I have nightmares."

Pilbrow also spoke of the financial impact on the family-owned store, saying they had lost thousands of dollars in revenue and profits as a direct result of this offending.

The store's female shop manager of five years also resigned as she no longer felt safe in the store.

Rowan Pilbrow sustained a number of injuries in his attempts to restrain Young's co-offender including fractured ribs, bruises and grazes and a dislocated finger.

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Snell told the court of Young's vast array of previous dishonesty convictions which added up to 77.

However, he did note that for a period of about five years, between 2014 and 2019, Young "got off methamphetamine, changed his lifestyle, lived with his father on the farm and got a purpose to his life".

This meth and crime-free period of Young's life ended following the death of his neighbour.

The neighbour, who suffered a medical event, died after Young performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth on him for 45 minutes until emergency services arrived.

Snell said that event had been described as a catalyst for Young turning back to methamphetamine to deal with his grief.

He said Young had often downplayed his role in the offending he was being sentenced on, claiming the actions of the store owner forced his hand.

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It was noted, however, that the planned offending was supposed to be a "smash and grab" with no violence.

At the end of his sentencing, Young turned to the public gallery and expressed his remorse for the harm he had caused.

Young's co-offender was sentenced at an earlier date.

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