Four years jail for bar robbery

"Good job" a voice from the Blenheim District Court's public gallery called when a judge sentenced a convicted armed robber of the Crow Tavern in Picton to four years in prison.

Samuel Charles Huntley, 24, Waikawa, had admitted taking $8500 cash from the tavern on August 4, an act Judge David McKegg described as planned but with no thought for the impact on his victims.

Huntley, who threatened the tavern's owner with a large knife, was sentenced on Friday. His lawyer Rob Harrison said Huntley's actions were typical of a drug addict. He had chosen an easy target to get quick money for his next fix.

Judge McKegg acknowledged the domination drugs had on Huntley's life, but said that did not reduce the impact on his victims.

"You chose to take a very large knife to assist with your actions. You used it as a potentially lethal weapon to get what you wanted."

He said Huntley knew the layout of the hotel and the movements of its staff. He took advantage of it being a small operation unable to afford a security system which could protect its owner.

Judge McKegg took into account Huntley's previous convictions and the terrible memory he had left for people who had tried to help him and his partner before the August 4 robbery.

The threat of violence, threats to kill and Huntley's attempts to force his victim into confinement warranted a six-year jail term, Judge McKegg said. However, Huntley had made an early guilty plea so the sentence was reduced to a four-year sentence.

An accomplice, Sonni-Leigh Newton, 20, was convicted for suppressing evidence against an aggravated robber. She was sentenced to six months' home detention at a Christchurch address and ordered to take a course of counselling, as directed by a probation officer.

Counselling will continue for another six months after her home detention, and Judge McKegg encouraged her to complete current attempts at reform.