Damian Moses St John, 27, was yesterday jailed for two years, five months after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery.
Koiatu Scott Munro, 26, was convicted of the same crime when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court in February and sentenced to 11 months’ home detention.
It was Munro who played the lead role in the home invasion.
On May 24, 2022, Munro was at a local bar and asked the victim, with whom he had previously attended high school, if he would sell him a cigarette for a dollar.
Munro only had a $5 note and suggested the man put it into a nearby pokie machine to obtain change.
But when the victim inserted the cash, he immediately won $500.
The pair celebrated but when Munro asked for his $250 share of the winnings, the man sought advice from the publican who told him to take the money and go home.
The victim returned to the community housing facility where he lived.
Munro, meanwhile, recruited a group.
The men hammered on it with such force the lock bent. They later found their way inside through another entrance.
When they reached the victim’s bedroom door, one of them yelled: "I am going to f... you up. Where’s my money?"
The group kicked the door as the men on the other side pushed against it to keep it closed.
Eventually, though, it splintered and the victims fled into an en suite bathroom, again attempting to barricade themselves inside.
The demands for cash continued.
When the door shattered, two of the unidentified assailants brandished knives while they attacked the jackpot winner.
The man was "cowering in the foetal position" as they took his cellphone and wallet containing the winnings.
As they left the address, they also stole a games console and damaged a television, a police summary said.
The primary victim, who has an intellectual disability, sustained facial lacerations which had to be glued and stapled, while his friend received a broken thumb.
The former said his physical injuries had healed but the mental scars remained.
"It’s changed the way I live and the way I am in my own home ... every door has to be locked all the time," he wrote in a statement.
"I really struggle to be able to trust people and I’m constantly aware of security and safety."
The outcome for him could have been far worse, the court heard.
He had previously undergone brain surgery and any blow to the head could be fatal.
St John was identified by police after his fingerprints were found on the front door and that of the en suite.
He claimed he had been unaware of what was going to happen when heading to the victim’s home and had only entered the property later to see what was happening.
Judge David Robinson accepted St John was not carrying a weapon, had not taken any property or inflicted any violence, but had to treat him as part of the group enterprise.
"You were part of what was ultimately a pack mentality."
Munro, while the principal offender, was dealt with more leniently primarily because of his uncontrolled epilepsy.
A doctor told the court he had "grave concerns" for the defendant if he was locked up.
Had it not been for that, he would also have been behind bars, the judge said.
