Remo Tauwari Waikato was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court. Photo / Stephen Parker
A Rotorua man who was part of an armed hold up at Lynmore BP will spend three years and nine months in jail.
Members of Remo Tauwari Waikato's whānau and BP staff were in the Rotorua District Court this afternoon for his sentencing.
A police summary of facts said Waikato and another man concocted the robbery plan while drinking at a Rotorua backpackers where they lived.
At 2am on December 10 last year Waikato entered the Lynmore BP on Te Ngae Rd with the co-offender, the "main aggressor", who was armed with a rifle that had a bolt action with a suppressor.
The firearm was pointed at a staff member behind the counter as cash and 50g of tobacco was demanded.
Waikato put a backpack on the counter and one of the two staff members emptied $122.40 from two tills and 46 packets of 30g and 50g tobacco valued at $2824.10, into the bag.
Waikato tried to calm them by telling them he and his co-offender were "not robbing them, they were robbing the Government".