Bandit faces jail term for violent takeaways ambush
A man has admitted his part in a takeaway store ambush that saw him lure in the unsuspecting victim.
Late in the evening on October 19, Thomas Johnson and two associates were at a takeaway store on Main St, Palmerston North.
The trio made a plan to attack another man in the store. Johnson struck up a conversation, while the others left and hid behind a skip in a nearby alleyway.
Johnson left the takeaway store with the victim, talking with him as they walked down Berrymans Lane.
Then, in the blackness, the two other attackers stepped out behind the victim and ‘‘struck him in the face, causing him to fall down to the ground, where [they] continued to kick him and punch him‘‘, Judge Lance Rowe told the Palmerston North District Court on Friday.
The victim lost consciousness, his wallet was stolen and the three attackers ‘‘left him laying on the ground’’. Johnson acted as lookout during the attack, Rowe said.
Before 1.30am that night, Johnson used the victim’s Paywave bank card twice to buy items at a BP petrol station.
The victim suffered injuries to his mouth, lost two teeth and suffered ‘‘extreme discomfort’’ during his recovery, his victim impact statement said.
Johnson admitted one charge of aggravated robbery, two charges of fraudulent use of a document for using a stolen bank card and one charge of possessing weapons.
The robbery took place while Johnson was on bail for the possessing weapons charge, Rowe said.
About 1pm on September 24 a bystander called emergency services to say a man was drunk and ‘‘in possession of a large screwdriver’’ on Church St, Palmerston North.
Officers arrived, searched Johnson and found he was carrying a screwdriver, a large black machete and a claw hammer in a bag he was carrying.
Rowe said the takeaway robbery was a prolonged and premeditated attack that caused serious injuries.
The maximum sentence for the four charges was four years’ jail.
He was convicted on all charges and kept in custody until April for sentencing.