Woman grabbed, kicked and robbed in the street
A man has admitted doing a street robbery minutes after being released on bail from the Christchurch Court House.
Two members of the public intervened and caught the 26-year-old robber, Aaron Ross Groube, of Lyttelton. They held him in the carpark at the South City shopping centre until the police arrived.
After Groube ripped the handbag from the woman, pushed her over, and kicked her, some men nearby yelled at him as he fled the scene in Durham Street.
Two other men “cottoned on” to what was happening and stopped Groube in the shopping centre carpark, the police said.
Groube didn’t get bail again and after his court appearance on December 14 he was held in custody over Christmas.
He pleaded guilty before Judge Jane McMeeken in the Christchurch District Court today to charges of burglary and robbery, and was remanded in custody for sentencing on March 9.
Judge McMeeken referred the case for a restorative justice meeting with the victims of the robbery and burglary, and asked for a pre-sentence report to cover Groube’s suitability for a home detention sentence.
Police said Groube was one of four people who burgled a house in Cressy Terrace, Lyttelton, on December 7, and removed a large amount of personal items. These included several digital cameras computer equipment, and a distinctive silver bowl.
Groube was found with the bowl the next day and told police he admitted the burglary.
He was arrested and released on bail from the Court House in Durham Street, early on December 14.
He walked along Durham Street and followed a woman who was carrying her handbag. He caught up to her near the intersection with Walker Street where he grabbed her arm with one hand and stomped on her foot. He then snatched her handbag with his other hand.
The woman struggled with him and held tightly onto her handbag.
Groube then pushed her causing her bag strap to break, and causing her to fall to the footpath.
Groube then kicked her in the leg before running away towards the South City carpark. He dropped the bag in the carpark before being caught by the two members of the public.
He told the police he had taken the handbag because it looked expensive and he thought there would be money in it.
Category: News
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