Teen admits part in dairy robbery
A dairy robbery was just one of a spate of crimes a Palmerston North teen has admitted carrying out.
Cheyenne Paahi, 19, pleaded guilty in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday to robbing the Rangiora Avenue Mini Mart on May 1.
Paahi was among five people who, wearing disguises, stormed the Mini Mart armed with weapons, including a firearm and a bat.
The 17-year-old minding the store was ordered to move away from the till and lie on the ground, where he was then kicked in the head by one of Paahi’s cooffenders.
Paahi and another person gathered cigarettes, cash and chocolate and stuffed them into pillowcases while another accomplice aimed a firearm at the shop assistant.
Another person, brandishing a baseball bat, smashed a computer screen before the group ran from the store.
But Paahi’s crimes didn’t stop there. He went on to steal two bags, break into vehicles and was later found unlawfully in a yard.
Judge Lance Rowe said ‘‘as far as dairy robberies go, this is as close to as bad as it gets’’.
Away from court, Mini Mart owner Jayesh Patel said he was pleased to hear one of the men had pleaded guilty and said it helped relieve the stress he had felt since. ‘‘That’s a good result.’’ He hoped Paahi would be harshly punished to deter others from such crimes.
His nephew, the 17-year-old working at the time of the robbery, was OK, but Patel said he would not let him work in the store again. Because of this, Patel was working seven days a week himself.
Paahi will be sentenced on six charges in December.