KEY POINTS:
One of two Tauranga cousins who robbed Matua Dairy told police he thought he'd "give it a go" after hearing about the South Auckland liquor store raid in which Navtej Singh was shot dead.
Just a week after the 30-year-old father-of-three died, trainee arborist Jamie Williams, 19, and pruner Michael Williams, 23, disguised their faces and held up the dairy to steal cigarettes.
Jamie had mooted the idea of robbing the dairy to his older cousin earlier in the day, but Michael assumed he was joking.
But as the pair drove along Levers Rd at 6.20pm on June 14, Jamie told Michael to stop the car as he wanted cigarettes.
As they crossed the road, Jamie told Michael he was going to steal the cigarettes. Michael said he didn't think it was a good idea, but still followed his cousin into the dairy.
The pair ran into the dairy with hoodies and bandannas over their faces and heads. Jamie jumped over the counter and confronted 14-year-old Karamjit Singh, who was working in his parents' shop.
When Jamie tried to grab at his victim's throat, the teenager managed to back off into the rear of the shop. The cousins then started swearing and yelling racial slurs at the teenager before they grabbed cigarettes, and ran off carrying 16 packets.
As they went to drive off, they were chased by the teenager, who struck the back car window with a metal bar, smashing it.
A member of the public driving along Levers Rd saw the pair drive off, and followed them until Michael sped up, driving in excess of 100km/h on Smiths Rd.
After pulling into a driveway, the cousins swapped seats and Jamie drove towards Cherrywood, reaching speeds of more than 140km/h. Once in Vale St, he pulled over and let Michael and his girlfriend out of the car. He then drove a short distance before pulling over. He got out of the car just as a police patrol car pulled up behind him.
In Tauranga District Court yesterday, the cousins pleaded guilty to one charge each of robbery and dangerous driving.
The cousins' lawyers urged Judge Thomas Ingram to defer sentencing until August 6 to allow their clients to explore a restorative justice meeting with their victims.
Judge Ingram agreed to do so, and said that home detention was a possibility. The cousins were remanded on bail under strict conditions for sentencing on August 6.
- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES
