A cushion was held over the face of an 83-year-old man to stop him screaming during a robbery in his Papanui home, and he was threatened with his own garden secateurs.
“I’m going to stab you, you bastard,” Maera Elizabeth Todd told the man during the August 13 robbery at a house in St James Street, while her companion searched for items to steal.
Both Todd, 39, and the other robber, Shantai Lawson, 38, have pleaded guilty to charges of robbing the couple aged 83 and 81, while armed with a weapon – the secateurs Todd picked up at the house.
After Lawson’s plea today, Christchurch District Court Judge David Saunders remanded her in custody for sentencing on January 16. Todd pleaded guilty in September and is due for sentencing on Wednesday. She is also in custody.
Lawson is from Owhata, in the Rotorua area, and Todd is from Tikipunga, in the Whangarei area.
Defence counsel Pip Hall QC said Lawson waived her right to a pre-sentence report in the hope of being sentenced more quickly, but the judge remanded her for a report to be prepared anyway.
He said it would help the prison sentence planners, and the Parole Board would want to know about Lawson’s circumstances at the time of the offending. She could participate in the interview if she chose.
Crown prosecutor Sean Mallett Todd and Lawson went to the street in a car about 4pm and Todd knocked on the door of the house. When the man came to the door she asked about the address number, and then left.
She returned a minute later and continued asking about the address number, and then both women pushed past the man and into the house.
Lawson began opening drawers and searching for items to steal while Todd grabbed the man with both hands and pushed him to the floor, pinning him down with her leg while Lawson took a silver watch from his pocket.
Lawson yelled, “Where is the money?” but the man replied that he had no money.
Todd then put a cushion over his face to stop him screaming. Todd then grabbed a pair of secateurs belonging to the victim, held them in front of his face and threatened to stab him.
The man attempted to crawl away but Todd pulled him back.
The man’s wife then returned home and as she opened the front door, Todd shoved her with both hands causing her to fall from the top step and land on her back on the concrete path.
Both women then fled the address in the car, but were quickly stopped by the police, in St James Street.
They had a cell phone taken in the robbery, the woman’s wallet, the silver watch, and a black bag containing other items belonging to the couple. Police found the stolen secateurs in Todd’s trouser pocket, Mr Mallett said.
The man was emotionally traumatised and received a cut on his mouth. The woman had a graze on her forehead and a sore lower back. Both needed medical attention.
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