Jail after bungled armed robbery

An armed robber has begun a four year three month jail term for a botched raid on a fish and chip shop, committed when the 31-year-old was "off his face", a judge said today.

Judge Phillip Moran and Anthony Daniel Jossy Grace, who has facial tattoos, had a respectful exchange in Maori in Christchurch District Court at his sentencing today.

Grace is artistic and talented and wants to set up a carving business, and Judge Moran said it was remarkable that he could also commit the robbery.

Grace has of more than 100 convictions, including 12 for assault, six for burglary, and three for possession of weapons. He did the robbery, with an associate, on September 24, 2008, while he was already on a suspended sentence for having a knife in a public place.

His guilty plea was entered after he had spent nearly a year in custody, and two weeks before his scheduled jury trial. Defence counsel Bridget Ayrey said the plea had been delayed because he had little or no memory of what happened.

He has now written letters of apology to the court, and to the robbery victims and he wants to meet them face to face at a restorative justice conference.

Judge Moran said Grace had little memory of the incident because he had been "off his face" on drink and possibly drugs at the time.

He had been drinking at a house in Papanui when he and a friend decided to rob a fish and chip shop. They took a bat, crowbar, and a knife, disguised themselves and went to the shop brandishing the weapons.

Two Asian brothers in the shop took off out the back and went around to the front of the shop where one of them used a metal pipe to smash some of the windows in the getaway car. He backed off when the robbers advanced, threatening him.

The robbers took the cash register, which contained only $200, and when it was found it had Grace's fingerprint on it.

"Happily there has been no adverse impact on these two resilient young men who have got over this ordeal," said the judge.

He said Grace had a long history of alcohol and drug abuse. He was seen as a high risk of reoffending unless he could get to grips with his problem.

- NZPA