Dairy robber gets three years in jail

A Timaru man has been jailed for three years and four months for his part in the violent robbery of a Church St dairy last year.

Dairy owner Ashwin Surti was injured when two disguised men, armed with a claw hammer and an air pistol, entered his store and demanded money on September 27.

Samuel Bryce Anglem, 20, appeared for sentence before Judge Brian Callaghan yesterday in Timaru District Court.

Anglem and an alleged co-offender entered the store and demanded money shortly before closing time. Anglem's co-offender threatened to kill Mr Surti. Anglem then struck Mr Surti on the head with the claw hammer, and his alleged co-offender shot him in the face at close range, before the pair ran into Centennial Park with $200 cash and cigarettes worth $500.

Mr Surti required surgery to remove a pellet from his nose.

Judge Callaghan accepted defence counsel Quentin Hix's submission that Anglem was remorseful, and noted in a victim impact statement that Mr Surti said "that with the support of the community and the passing of time", the effect of the incident had lessened on him.

"It is positive to read that at least the victim's recovering emotionally from this," Judge Callaghan said. The victim impact statement indicated it was "not in [Mr Surti's] make-up to want too heavy a penalty" for Anglem, he said.

Judge Callaghan said that after taking into account Anglem's guilty plea, and other mitigating factors, the sentence was set at three years and four months, plus $388.90 reparation.

Anglem's alleged co-offender is still before the courts.

- © Fairfax NZ News