A man robbed a Dunedin pharmacy twice within five months to get drugs to sell because he needed money, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
Clinton Michael Dearman (46), unemployed, admitted two charges of robbing the Forbury Pharmacy at knife-point on July 4 and November 29.
He had been given an indication a guilty plea would bring a prison sentence of not more than seven and a-half years, with the possibility of a yet-to-be-specified minimum non-parole period.
After the plea, Judge Michael Crosbie granted an application by defence counsel John Westgate and dismissed charges of kidnapping and aggravated assault associated with the second robbery.
The facts summary from Crown counsel Richard Smith said Dearman was wearing a balaclava and carrying a large knife during the closing-time robbery of the Hillside Rd premises on July 4.
He held the four staff members at knife-point in a back room, directing one of them to fill a plastic bag with controlled drugs.
Once the bag had been filled, he told the staff he would stab anyone who tried to follow him. He then ran from the shop.
He returned to the same pharmacy just before closing time on November 29, getting out of his car when he saw a staff member taking in the ''open'' sign.
Dearman's face was covered with a beanie which had eye-holes cut in it. He went into the shop, demanded a bundle of cash one of the staff was holding, then pushed the other staff members through to the back room, telling them he had a knife.
Unknown to him, another staff member had managed to leave the shop and contact police. Dearman had a much larger bag with him this time and filled it with all the controlled drugs from the pharmacy safe.
He made the staff put their hands behind their backs and taping them with duct tape before shutting the staff in the toilet and leaving the shop. A police patrol car arrived just as the defendant emerged and an officer told him to stop.
Dearman abused him, claimed he had a gun and continued walking to his car. The officer pepper-sprayed him and arrested him.
Dearman admitted what he had done, saying the first robbery was to get drugs to sell because he needed money. And he was going to sell the drugs from the second robbery to raise money ''for Christmas expenses''.
He also admitted he had been trying to avoid arrest when he challenged the police officer and said he detained the pharmacy staff because he wanted to have more time to make his getaway. He was remanded in custody for sentence in August.
