Recidivist armed robber Solo Turner and his rehab with Destiny Church’s Man Up programme

Solo Turner, 19 (left), pictured with Eric Edmonds earlier this year. Edmonds is a mentor for Destiny Church programme Kaikohe Man Up. Photo / Supplied https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122147941370367779&set=ecnf.61561033372403

For months, Solo Turner donned disguises and armed himself before storming dairies with his associates and carrying out violent robberies, including bashing one owner with a hammer.

But now, the 19-year-old claims to be a reformed man after being taken under the wing of a mentor from Destiny Church’s Man Up programme.

During Turner’s crime spree, he and others carried out five armed robberies across Hamilton in five months.

They mainly targeted dairies, stealing more than $35,000 in cash, cigarettes and vape products, before striking Liquorland Dinsdale on February 26 last year, where they stole $1000 worth of alcohol.

After earlier pleading guilty to five charges of aggravated robbery, along with others of unlawfully using a motor vehicle and aggravated injury, Turner appeared before Judge Noel Cocurullo for sentencing in the Hamilton District Court on Wednesday.

The court heard Turner had spent several months completing a rehabilitative course through Destiny Church’s Man-Up programme while remanded in prison.

Judge Cocurullo acknowledged he had seen positive changes in some young offenders who had taken part in it.

‘He wouldn’t talk, he was closed up’

Eric Edmonds, a mentor for the Kaikohe Man-Up programme, addressed the judge regarding his experience with Turner.

“When I first met Solo he didn’t know how to talk, he wouldn’t talk, he was closed up.

“Since being around us, it’s helped him start to open up, to share.”

Edmonds said previously men were taught to “harden up, not open up”.

His job was to help young men feel comfortable to speak about any trauma they may have experienced in a safe environment.

Solo Turner (left) with Eric Edmonds, a mentor for the Kaikohe Man Up programme, a Destiny Church-run initiative for men.

“They’ve got to be around the right people, not just good people.”

He said Turner had grown so much he was now becoming a role model for other young men and he hoped that wouldn’t regress with him being given a jail sentence that was too long.

“I know there’s a good man in there, it’s just about unwrapping it,” Edmonds said.

‘Five armed robberies in five months’

The events that led to Turner’s lock-up began on September 12, 2023, when he and four others drove a stolen car to the Bellbird Dairy.

Turner was armed with a hammer and all of them had their faces covered. As they ran in, Turner waved his weapon around while threatening the two elderly dairy owners.

He and a co-defendant jumped over a protective screen and set about stealing cigarettes, while another stole the cash register. They were gone in 60 seconds.

The Massey Foodmart was the next target on the morning of October 14, 2023. Turner had a metal pole, and a younger offender arrived on a bike. They pulled their hoodies over their heads and wore gloves.

A staff member raised their hands and backed off as the pair filled their bags with $15,640.69 worth of cigarettes and related products, emptying nearly the entire cabinet in two and a half minutes.

Solo Turner and a co-offender stole more than $15,000 worth of cigarettes from the Massey Foodmart in Hamilton on October 14, 2023. Photo / Supplied

A week later, Turner and two co-offenders, aged 32 and 14, struck the Lucky Dairy, taking $20,000 worth of products.

Turner had a softball bat and the 32-year-old had a Glock pistol, which he pointed at staff when rushing in and as Turner jumped the counter and filled a bag with cigarettes.

As they ran off, a member of the public confronted the gun-wielding offender, who then fired two shots in his direction.

The Aberdeen Superette was robbed at 5.55pm on November 12, 2023, while the owner was celebrating Diwali with family.

Turner and his co-offenders, all wearing disguises and armed with hammers, burst into the shop.

Turner and another teen were unable to smash their way into the cigarette cabinet and cash register, so they stole vape products instead.

Bellbird Dairy on Norton Rd, Hamilton, was the first business to be hit by armed robber Solo Turner, in a heist on September 10, 2023. Photo / Belinda Feek

As they left, the owner and several others tried to detain the teen, which was when Turner struck the owner with his hammer.

Turner got in a car and fled, but the teen was chased down the street by family, swinging his bag of stolen loot and hitting a family member in the face. He was caught and held down until police arrived.

The Liquorland Dinsdale armed robbery then happened on February 26, last year, while he was on bail.

All of them were caught by police within the hour.

‘The positive benefits of Man Up’

At sentencing, Judge Cocurullo acknowledged Turner had completed the rehabilitative course through the Destiny Church’s Man Up programme.

The judge said he “intentionally stayed away from the publicised behaviour” that the church was known for, and instead spoke about what he’d seen in his courtroom.

He knew Man Up was not a Ministry of Justice-authorised deliverer of programmes but he said that didn’t constrain him from offering discounts.

“I’m being careful in the comments I am making as the media are here.

“I mean no disrespect to the Government entities who ensure that I am told that there is no contract relationship with them, but I am not constrained to that ... my judicial independence goes much wider than that.

“I could give chapter and verse on a number of occasions [of people] who have had positive benefits with outcomes with Man Up.

“It’s not my endorsement of the programme ... that is my commendation of positive initiatives that I have seen and positive changes I have seen in younger men and at the heart of it ... Man Up can provide a cohort of men who can provide some social activity that men can do and this might be one of those situations.”

‘Don’t issue a sentence too crushing’

In an effort to get his client a 70 per cent discount, Rollason delivered an exhaustive set of submissions, stretching about 40 minutes, dead-set on convincing Judge Cocurullo his client deserved every one he was pushing for.

At Turner’s earlier sentence indication, the judge agreed to give 18% for his guilty pleas and at least 20% for youth.

Solo Turner struck a staff member of the Aberdeen Dairy with a hammer after a failed attempt to rob the shop of cigarettes and cash. Photo / Supplied

Rollason today pushed for 30% for youth, 20% for background factors, and more for rehabilitation.

“My overarching submission is that for a young person like Mr Turner any sentence of imprisonment is inherently crushing, particularly given [a doctor’s background report].”

However, while Judge Cocurullo understood what Rollason was requesting, he said Turner had still managed to commit five aggravated robberies – one of which was while on bail after being arrested for the first four.

“He has caused immeasurable harm in our community,” the judge said.

Rollason accepted that and pointed to reports that indicated Sole had poor cognition and a disadvantaged upbringing.

Due to the work by Edmonds, he’d since been able to gain some insight into his offending and how it has affected others, he submitted.

‘The victims will not be forgotten’

Handing down his sentence, the judge first acknowledged Turner’s victims and the “profound, serious effect” his crimes have had on them.

“I have read harrowing victim impact statements ... I’m talking about victims who were just trying to get by in life and earn a living.

“Victims of this sort of offending weigh heavily on me and for good reason.”

He said they frequently went unseen as they were not often in court for the hearings, “but I will not forget them”.

The judge appreciated Rollason’s hard work but instead of reaching 70% in discounts, he only got to 63%.

However, this was then adjusted to 53% to allow for totality, a principle judges must consider when sentencing an offender on multiple charges.

Taking into account other factors, Judge Cocurullo jailed Turner for five years and five months and also ordered a firearms protection order.

Regarding reparation, of which $19,000 is owed, the judge declined to order it as it would only re-victimise the victims as Turner had no means to pay it.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 20.