Destiny Maniapoto, 27, was sentenced to home detention after pleading guilty in the Invercargill District Court last week to aggravated robbery, disorderly behaviour, possessing a weapon and suspended driving.
On July 16, Maniapoto and her co-defendants Hori Gemmell, 28, and Shayne Mary Delahey, 26, had organised to meet another group of three in a cemetery near Gore to complete a cannabis deal.
One victim passed Gemmell $25 through a car window, but an argument led Gemmell to reach down, grab an item and point it at the man, who believed it was a gun.
The man fled to his car to get his cellphone, but Gemmell beat him to it and took the phone.
One defendant got into the driver’s seat of their car while a co-defendant pulled a victim out of the vehicle by her hair.
Two defendants drove off in the victims’ car and the remaining defendant drove away in the car they arrived in, leaving the trio stranded in the cemetery.
The group abandoned the victims’ vehicle at the Gore Racecourse, a police summary said.
"This incident demonstrates just how far off the rails you have gone," Judge Thomas Ingram said.
"In New Zealand historically, carjackings were rare. They are now becoming increasingly common."
Judge Ingram sentenced Maniapoto to 15 months’ imprisonment; this meant she would be released soon, due to her time spent in custody while on remand.
