Two men who robbed Whakatane's Kopeopeo Turf Bar were greeted by people they knew just before walking into the building to carry out their crime.
Joseph William Moeller, 20, Cruz Sonny Kipa Fruean, 23, and Lance Gregory Butler, 20, are jointly charged with the aggravated robbery of the Kopeopeo Turf Bar last month. Both Moeller and Fruean pleaded guilty to the charge in the Whakatane District Court on Wednesday.
Butler appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Thursday and was remanded in custody for a week without plea. He faces three charges - aggravated robbery, assault with a weapon and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle. He entered guilty pleas to charges of shoplifting, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, burglary and breach of bail, and will be sentenced on those charges on August 26.
Moeller and Fruean have been remanded in custody until October 12 when they will be sentenced in the Whakatane District Court.
The police summary of facts stated that on July 25 Moeller and Butler arrived in Whakatane from Auckland in a car that had been stolen earlier by an associate and given to the defendants. They looked for Fruean, a patched member of Black Power, who they had been prospecting for.
Late in the afternoon Moeller and Fruean consumed drugs before going to an associate's house and consuming more drugs.
Fruean suggested the men rob the Turf Bar and Moeller agreed.
At 9pm, armed with a large kitchen knife and a spade and wearing hoodies, the men drove to Kopeopeo in the stolen car and parked outside.
The bar manager was bringing in signs and waved at the men, who returned his wave.
Moeller, holding the knife and a bag, started walking toward the bar while Fruean stayed in the driver's seat.
As the defendants went inside, two teenagers parked nearby recognised them and began calling their names.
Despite this Moeller continued with the plan and one of the teenagers called 111. Fruean signalled to the teenager to be quiet and to back off, but they ignored him.
Inside, Moeller pointed his weapon toward the manager and demanded money from the tills. As the money was put into bags, an elderly patron saw the manager's distress and approached the defendant.
Moeller saw him coming and presented the spade in an aggressive and threatening manner while also swearing and telling him to back off or he would hurt him.
The patron picked up a bar stool to defend himself. One of the teenage witnesses began yelling at the defendant, telling him to stop and saying he did not have to do it.
Moeller then ran from the bar to the stolen car and went back to the associate's house to count the money. A total of $9178.20 was stolen - none has been recovered.
When arrested in Auckland two weeks later, Moeller told police he wished he hadn't done the robbery. He said he did not think about the repercussions and his actions were just stupid and idiotic, adding he was sincerely sorry to the victims.
Fruean also expressed remorse and apologised to the victims.