Zariah Helen Andrews-Paaka, 22, Briley Anne Martin, 22, and Aaron Tehokotahi Kahurangi Rakena Quinn Carson, 20, were jointly charged with kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
On May 28 last year, the trio convinced a 19-year-old girl to visit them.
But after her father dropped her off, the victim was locked in a room and held at knifepoint.
A police summary said while Carson guarded the front door, Andrews-Paaka asked the victim how much money she had.
"Do you want to give me your wallet, or do you want to bleed?" the defendant said.
She then pushed the victim into a wardrobe, snatched her phone and demanded the password.
Martin took $2200 cash from the victim’s wallet.
Andrews-Paaka punched the victim in the face twice when she claimed she did not know the password to the phone.
She then ordered the victim to share her bankcard pins.
Martin threatened: "You better tell us otherwise you’re not going to get out of here; you’re going to stay here and we’ll punch you."
Andrews-Paaka elbowed the victim in the face when she tried to see what the group was doing.
Carson told the girl they needed more money and left the address with Martin to withdraw $2000 from an ATM.
Meanwhile, Andrews-Paaka transferred $3000 from the victim’s bank account to her own.
When all three defendants were back, Carson then told the victim "you’re not going to get home tonight ... we might even take you to the Mongrel Mob house".
Andrews-Paaka then used a pair of pliers to pull the victim’s top braces wire off her teeth, which brought the girl close to tears.
The victim pretended she needed to go home to find a bank password for the defendants.
They all got into a taxi and the defendants instructed the victim to call them once she found the password, but she never did.
This month in the Invercargill District Court, Andrews-Paaka was sentenced to 10 months’ home detention for her role in the attack.
She was considered to be the leader of the ambush as she was the eldest, most violent and she also had a history of similar offending.
Counsel Sonia Vidal said her client’s methamphetamine addiction was the driving factor behind her crime.
While Andrews-Paaka had not behaved well in prison and absconded from residential rehabilitation, she was committed to getting clean, Ms Vidal said.
"Home detention isn’t the easy outcome, it isn’t a soft sentence, it involves a risk," she said.
"Ms Andrews-Paaka knows that one toe out of line, and it’s jail."
Judge Duncan Harvey reluctantly agreed home detention was the right outcome, but stressed the offending was "very serious".
"It is difficult to imagine why you were so cruel," he said.
"I am giving you a chance, but you need to understand very clearly that if you come back to this court ... you’ll go to prison," he said.
Martin’s lawyer, Scott Williamson, argued his client was young and could be "easily led".
He said methamphetamine fuelled the defendant’s offending.
Judge Harvey said Martin knew what was likely to happen once the victim arrived and did not intervene.
"This was dreadful offending. Had it not been for [Martin] the victim would not have been at the address," the judge said.
"You are as responsible for what occurred as they are."
Judge Harvey sentenced Martin to two years’ imprisonment with leave to apply for home detention.
"I really have given you a chance today, don’t blow it," the judge said.
The third defendant, Carson, was young and vulnerable, counsel Hugo Young said.
"He’s telling me that he’s learnt his lesson and he wants to be given another chance," Mr Young said.
Judge Russell Walker acknowledged Carson had a difficult upbringing and was just 18 when he committed the crimes.
"While you may have played a lesser role than your co-defendant Andrews-Paaka, you still played ... an integral part in what occurred," the judge said.
He sentenced Carson to six months’ home detention, despite concerns about his poor compliance on electronically-monitored bail.
"I want to make it absolutely clear to you Mr Carson that this is your final opportunity to get this right," Judge Walker warned.
