Stay granted for Henry Fred, alleged robber charged with murder of Sandringham dairy worker Janak Patel

An Auckland man accused of helping to plan a dairy robbery that turned fatal will not be tried for murder after all due to a terminal illness.

Wiri resident Henry Fred, 37, was accused by police of serving as the getaway driver during the November 2022 robbery at Sandringham’s well-known pink Rose Cottage dairy.

Worker Janak Patel, who was overseeing the store with his newlywed wife while its owners were overseas, was stabbed to death by Fred’s co-defendant, Frederick Hobson, in the process. His death sparked nationwide outrage and protests over the prevalence of retail crime.

Although Fred was not believed to have any direct contact with Patel, he was charged as a party to murder because authorities alleged he had helped plan the armed robbery, knowing that it could result in death.

During a brief hearing this morning in the High Court at Auckland, Justice Graham Lang noted that the Solicitor-General has now agreed to grant Fred a stay of proceedings - essentially calling off the murder trial - due to a terminal illness. The judge declined to give details of the illness, but it is believed Fred may have less than a year to live.

Janak Patel.

Co-defendant Hobson pleaded guilty to murder last month and is set to be sentenced in June. A third man, also charged as a party, awaits trial.

According to court documents released after Hobson’s guilty plea, Hobson and Fred planned the robbery on the evening of Wednesday, November 23, 2022.

“Mr Hobson was to enter the Rose Cottage Superette armed with a knife to take the cash from the till and any other items he could manage,” according to the alleged facts of the case - since agreed to by Hobson, but not Fred. “Mr Fred was the getaway driver.”

Fred is alleged to have met up with Hobson in Mt Roskill around 7.08pm before they drove to the dairy together in Fred’s Honda Inspire.

After scoping out the area, Hobson entered the store around 8pm, shortly after Fred is alleged to have left the dairy parking lot to wait at a nearby location.

“On the vehicle’s departure, Mr Hobson immediately pulled a black bandana up, to cover the bottom half of his face, and ran into the Rose Cottage Superette, holding a knife and a brown paper bag,” court documents state. “Mr Hobson ran behind the counter of the superette, forcing his way through two closed wooden panels, and approached the cash register.”

Patel - who had only months earlier immigrated to New Zealand and just days earlier moved from Hamilton to Auckland to watch over the Rose Cottage Superette - had initially been in a back-room living area of the business, when he was alerted to the robbery by his wife. He stepped into the shop but retreated when Hobson confronted him with the knife.

Henry Fred, accused of participating in the robbery of an Auckland dairy that resulted in the death of worker Janak Patel, appears in the High Court at Auckland in December 2022. Photo / Michael Craig

Hobson then left the store with the entire cash register and other items, including butane lighters and vapes.

Patel was stabbed multiple times about 150 metres from the store, after chasing after Hobson with a hockey stick in an effort to get the items back.

After the fatal attack, Hobson “continued walking casually” down the street before getting into Fred’s vehicle and driving away, authorities alleged.

Murder defendant Frederick Hobson, who fatally stabbed Sandringham dairy worker Janak Patel in the course of a robbery, appears in the High Court at Auckland in 2022. Photo / Michael Craig

Patel’s death sparked nationwide anguish and outrage. Hundreds attended vigils and small business owners temporarily shut their doors across the country in an organised protest to highlight what has been perceived as the growing danger of operating a dairy in New Zealand.

His funeral was attended by then Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern and MP Mark Mitchell, who currently serves as Police Minister under the National-led coalition Government.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.