Youth Court Decisions How to Use Full list of key titles CYPFA section Date

Police v PR, 21 May 2007, Youth Court, Gisborne, 2007-216-23, Judge Becroft

Name: Police v PR
Unreported
File number: 2007-216-23
Court: Youth Court
Location: Gisborne
Date: 21 May 2007
Judge: Judge Becroft, Principal Youth Court Judge
Charge: Robbery
CYPFA:
Key title: Evidence

Whether under s235(b) of the Crimes Act 1961 the aggravating factor of the defendant “being with another person” was proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Whether it could be said there was a ‘common purpose’ or ‘common intention’ to rob the victim.

Case Summary:
The defendant, P was offered and accepted Youth Court jurisdiction following a depositions hearing on a charge of robbery, a purely indictable charge.
The complainant was walking home when P and another young woman, K confronted her. K told the complainant to hand over her cell phone and keys, which she refused to do. The defendant grabbed the complainant and held her arm while K punched her in the forehead. K grabbed the complainant’s bag. The defendant punched the complainant and ran off. P claimed she did not know what K was going to do, and she hit the complainant because she said she saw the complainant hit K with her bag.
The complainant agreed she heard nothing between the defendant and K during the incident. The evidence of witnesses was preferred to that of the defendant as the Judge considered the defendant’s evidence to be unreliable, untruthful and contradictory to that of the witnesses.

Decision
Holding the charge to be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
On the evidence heard, the only possible explanation was that P was intentionally participating with K in assisting with the bag being pulled off the complainant’s shoulder, with violence being used without justification and taking the bag.
The facts overwhelmingly supported one inference, that of an intentional participation in a common purpose.