Man admits armed robbery

Press, 10 April 1987, Page 4

Man admits armed robbery

Before the completion of the prosecution’s case in the District Court yesterday on a bank robbery charge the principal offender pleaded guilty to the offence.

The defendant, Siu Suluvale, aged 21, unemployed, admitted a charge that while armed with a sawn-off, single-barrel shotgun on the afternoon of February 26 he robbed a teller at the A.N.Z. Bank agency in Stanmore Road, Linwood, of $8437.

Suluvale’s plea of guilty came after a day and a half of evidence of prosecution witnesses at the preliminary hearing. He was then committed for sentence in the High Court on April 29.

Messrs J. H. Christensen and A. L. Mclvor, Justices of the Peace, remanded Suluvale in custody pending sentence. They lifted an order of suppression of his name which had been in force from the start of the hear-

ing on the application of defence counsel, Mr Erno Bedo.

The hearing then resumed, with the evidence of two remaining witnesses, relating to an alleged accomplice in the bank robbery. At the completion of this, the Justices of the Peace held there was sufficient evidence to commit this defendant, Anthony Stephen Lawson, aged 22, unemployed, for trial. He had been charged with being a party to the armed robbery committed by Suluvale. Lawson was remanded

in custody pending a date for trial by jury in the High Court He was represented by Mr B. P. Callaghan, who reserved the defence. In a written statement to a detective, Lawson allegedly detailed events about the time of the robbery. He said Suluvale had asked him .to drive for him as he needed help, but he had refused. Suluvale had got angry, and Lawson then said he would “drive him there” but Suluvale was not supposed to “do the job” until after Lawson returned home. ,

The statement told of Suluvale’s taking a motorcycle before the robbery and then arriving at a spot where Lawson was waiting in a car. Suluvale was carrying a bag, and said he had “done the job.” When they returned home Suluvale handed him a gun. Suluvale gave him six $5O notes for helping him. Detective Sergeant J. K. Hall said that on March 4 Lawson asked to speak to him, and asked what he had been charged with. He was told aggravated robbery. Lawson had replied “Yeah, but not by choice.” He had said Suluvale had

pestered him to help him. He had “done It” only to get rid of him. Lawson had said he wanted to help himself, and did not want to go to prison. Asked about his allegedly having gone to a house to get the gun for Suluvale to use in the robbery, Lawson had said he had thought about handing it in to the police. But Suluvale had “got on to him” about getting the gun for the robbery. He had wanted to get rid of Suluvale.

Told he had not had to take Suluvale, Lawson had replied, “Which was worse, Suluvale doing the robbery with an unloaded gun or a knife?” Not much damage could have been done with an unloaded gun, but a knife could have cut somebody, Lawson had said.