Justin Wiremu Keremete was captured on CCTV footage when he robbed ANZ bank in Rangiora. Photo / Supplied
Justin Wiremu Keremete was captured on CCTV footage when he robbed ANZ bank in Rangiora. Photo / Supplied
A recidivist robber who went on a month-long crime spree across Canterbury armed with a hatchet and imitation pistol has spent more than half of his life behind bars.
Justin Wiremu Keremete has become so institutionalised that he has “no hope” and is on the “verge of giving up”, a court has heard.
The 51-year-old appeared at the High Court at Christchurch where he was jailed for eight years and 11 months on five charges of aggravated robbery, burglary with a weapon, unlawfully taking a bicycle and breaching his release conditions.
Keremete estimates out of the last 36 years, he has spent 30 in jail and despite counselling sessions, is constantly getting called back to prison for repeat offending.
According to the summary of facts on March 14, last year, Keremete stole an electric bike valued at $11,499 from Christchurch’s Electrify NZ bike store after asking staff if he could take it for a test run. The bike was unable to be recovered.
Justin Wiremu Keremete was sentenced to eight years and 11 months' imprisonment for his month-long crime spree across Canterbury. Photo / Supplied
The next week on March 25, Keremete entered stationary shop Paper Tree in St Martins before pulling out a small imitation pistol, aiming it at a staff member behind the till and demanding they hand over money.
Keremete threatened to shoot the staff member and pulled out a hatchet before walking around the till and stealing $1495.
Four days later Keremete stole $2500 and A$2500 from the currency exchange counter Travelex in Riccarton Mall. Again, he was armed with weapons.
On April 8, Keremete entered Cashmere Club armed with a hatchet and gave the staff member behind the counter a bag, demanding they fill it with money.
When the staffer refused to hand over the money and gave the bag back, Keremete walked around the bar and raised the hatchet towards the staffer before telling them “Don’t make a scene”. He left without any money.
The next day Keremete walked into the Elmwood Metromart, again armed with the hatchet and small imitation pistol and threatened to shoot staff if they didn’t give him money. He stole $2700, several packets of cigarettes and tobacco.
The following day Keremete went to Fresh Choice Merivale, armed with the imitation pistol and stole $960 from the till.
Two days later he stole $2000 from ANZ bank in Rangiora, after presenting the imitation pistol at staff and shoving a female staff member out of the way.
Keremete later told police the hatchet was a “small homemade axe” and he needed the money as his benefit had been cut off and he didn’t want to go back to jail.
The victims of Keremete’s offending described feeling fearful and helpless during his robberies and some did not feel safe going back to work.
Keremete’s lawyer Philip Hall KC said Keremete estimates that out of the last 36 years, he has spent 30 years in prison and described himself as “institutionalised”.
He also noted that his client wanted to apologise to his victims for the distress he caused but “never intended to injure any of them”.
Hall said Keremete had no family support and feels “hopeless” and was concerned he was on the “verge of giving up.”
Justin Wiremu Keremete was jailed for eight years and 11 months at the High Court at Christchurch for a crime-spree of armed robberies across Canterbury. Photo / George Heard
Crown prosecutor Sean Mallet asked the judge to impose a second sentence of preventive detention on top of the preventive detention sentence that has already been imposed on Keremete.
Mallet said Keremete was likely to commit further offending, stating “previous behaviour is the best indicator for future behaviour.”
While Justice Johnathan Eaton did not impose a second sentence of preventive detention, he noted that Keremete had a “shocking” criminal history dating back to the 1990s.
He said between 1991 and 1998 Keremete offended every year and when he was released on parole in 2003, went on to commit four more burglaries for which he was sentenced to preventive detention and imprisonment.
In 2013, while on parole Keremete relapsed into drug use and found himself back in prison in 2014. He was released and again, went back to prison in 2020 before being released in 2022.
Justice Eaton said whilst in prison Keremete had become involved with gangs and found it difficult to adapt to life outside of prison. He also noted Keremete indicated he had lost hope and felt as though he had nothing to lose.
Keremete was sentenced to eight years and 11 months’ imprisonment with a minimum period of imprisonment of five years.
Emily Moorhouse is a Christchurch-based Open Justice journalist at NZME. She joined NZME in 2022. Before that, she was at the Christchurch Star.
