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CHRISTCHURCH - Two teenagers feared for their lives during an early morning beating and robbery on an isolated part of the Waimakariri riverbank, near Christchurch.
Cellphones, wallets, and some clothing was taking from them. One of them managed to escape wearing his underwear.
"They feared being left to die there," said Christchurch District Court Judge Gary MacAskill. "This was an isolated area with little prospect of anyone coming to their assistance."
One of the two attackers was unemployed Kaiapoi 25-year-old Shannon Morrell who was sentenced today after pleading guilty to the aggravated robbery charge during his trial.
He also admitted the burglary of a central Christchurch pharmacy in which medicines were taken which were usually used to make methamphetamine and homebake morphine.
The other attacker has already been jailed, but Judge MacAskill raised Morrell's jail term because of his bad record and the burglary charge. He sent him to prison for a total of four years and seven months.
The teenagers had been driving around Christchurch for two hours before hitting a traffic island and damaging a wheel near Kaiapoi. At 1.20am they asked for help from a woman customer at a service station. She could not help but texted Morrell and his friend.
An all-night drinking session then took place, and when Morrell and his friend were driving the teenagers back to town, they went to a remote part of the riverbank where they looked for a cannabis patch.
They could not find it, but got the victims out of the car where they were punched and kicked to the ground repeatedly and robbed. They received swelling and bruising.
Judge MacAskill said the court could not rely on Morrell's promise to address his drug and alcohol problems. He noted four previous convictions for burglary, and two for aggravated robbery.
- NZPA
