Rosey Heurea jailed for stealing more than $12k in goods during Hamilton crime spree

Rosey Heurea stole $12,000 worth of items, including clothes, from Hamilton stores last year. Photo / 123rf

A brazen shoplifter embarked on a lengthy crime spree that involved her carrying a small child while stealing clothing, threatening to stab those who tried to stop her, and striking a worker.

Rosey Heurea was already on bail when she was caught shoplifting 19 times last year, helping herself to more than $12,000 in stolen goods.

This week, the 24-year-old appeared in the Wellington District Court via audio-visual link from prison custody.

She was sentenced on 30 charges, including 22 of theft, with 10 of those thefts being worth more than $1000, and six of aggravated assault. She also faced one count each of possession of an offensive weapon and a breach of intensive supervision.

Heurea wore a grey prison-issue tracksuit and kept her head down during the hearing.

The court heard that between June and November last year, she took groceries, beauty products and clothing from Hamilton stores, including Rebel Sport, the Warehouse, the Chemist Warehouse, and Woolworths and Countdown supermarkets.

At times, she acted alone or with the help of others. Judge Tania Warburton noted the getaway cars weren’t registered in Heurea’s name and on several occasions black tape was used to cover the registration plates.

On six occasions, the shoplifting escalated to violence, including once when Heurea and a co-defendant tried to leave the Chemist Warehouse, each carrying a basket of goods they hadn’t paid for.

As staff attempted to stop them, Heurea struck one staff member before trying to rip the basket from the hands of another staffer. The baskets were eventually retrieved and the pair was escorted from the store.

Rosey Heurea was sentenced on 30 charges, including 22 of theft, during a hearing at the Wellington District Court. Photo / RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

At other times, Heurea stole clothing from Rebel Sport, telling staff “I will kill you all” and threatening to stab those who challenged her. At one point, Heurea and a co-defendant taunted staff, telling them, “you couldn’t get us”.

Staff, aware of Heurea’s threats and fearing for their safety, let her leave with the stolen clothing.

On November 18, Heurea walked into a Rebel Sport store carrying a child. After being asked to leave, she walked out of the store carrying a large quantity of clothing. Still holding the child’s hand, Heurea walked to the carpark and told a staff member she would stab them if they followed her any further.

Later that day, Heurea returned to the same store and was recognised. After picking up clothing, she was asked to leave but told the person “f*** off, get away, don’t touch me”.

When told police were looking for her, Heurea responded: “She’d better make it worth it”.

At her sentencing, Judge Warburton said the aggravating factors included the alleged threats to staff, the violence, that she’d involved a child in her offending and the volume of stolen property.

Adopting a starting point of 26 months’ jail, the judge added an uplift for the number of charges, the assault and the possession of a knife.

That gave a total starting point of 31 months’ jail.

Turning to Heurea’s personal circumstances, the judge noted Heurea committed some of the offences while on bail. She also had four previous convictions for assault and 12 convictions for dishonesty.

Heurea, who was from a supportive family, had begun a relationship with a destructive and volatile gang member when she was young, the judge said.

“Most of your negative associates are linked to that gang.”

However, Heurea said she had ended the relationship and told a probation officer she regretted the offending.

Heurea’s lawyer Gerard Walsh sought a short sentence of imprisonment.

“We’re not saying it’s not jail today – it is,” he said, adding that his client planned to move from Waikato to Nelson when released to live with her grandmother.

Given that Heurea would be on a benefit once released from jail, Walsh suggested reparations of about $3000, acknowledging that some people would find that offensive.

The judge said imposing the full reparation would cause Heurea undue hardship. She ordered $2200 in reparations, with varying amounts to be paid to the five chain stores.

Heurea was jailed for 21 months. While that made her eligible for a community-based sentence, Heurea said she’d rather finish her time in custody, where she’s spent the past eight months.

Upon her release, she would be banned from using alcohol or drugs and would be subjected to regular testing, the judge said.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.