Teahu Wirangi Hardiman, Emerson John Mau: Westfield Coomera jewellery store robbery foiled by local staff and shoppers
A judge has told two would-be thieves he hoped they were not pretending to be remorseful after the pair’s attempt to rob a Westfield Coomera shopping centre store was foiled by staff and shoppers. FULL STORY
A judge has told two would-be thieves he hoped they were not pretending to be remorseful after the pair’s attempt to rob a Westfield Coomera shopping centre store was foiled by staff and shoppers.
Teahu Wirangi Hardiman, 24, and Emerson John Mau, 28, pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court on Thursday to one count each of attempted robbery whilst armed in company.
Hardiman also pleaded guilty to two summary charges of obstructing a police officer.
On the afternoon of September 27, 2024 the men entered the Westfield Coomera, donning hoodies and carrying a small tyre iron in a shopping bag.
In broad daylight, the pair walked to Bevilles Jewellers where Hardiman began repeatedly smashing the top of a glass display cabinet with the tyre iron.
Mau stood nearby, guarding the jeweller’s entry.
Other shopping centre staff and shoppers intervened to stop the theft but when a barber from Lux Grooming Barbershop ran to the jewellers’ aid, he was struck in the chin by Mau.
The court heard Hardiman struck the barber’s body with the tyre iron and the two grappled while Mau threw punches.
Other shoppers grabbed hold of Mau but both men broke free with Hardiman making a last-ditch attempt to swing at the glass display before exiting the shopping centre.
They didn’t get far after their getaway car got stuck on a nearby traffic island.
The court heard Hardiman refused to exit the car for police, placing himself over the driver and putting his foot onto the accelerator.
A co-accused and alleged getaway driver Brayden James Cousin who allegedly visited the jewellers prior to the attempted robbery, is still before the courts and has not entered any pleas.
The barber who intervened suffered bruising and grazes to his arms and upper body.
In court, Judge Rowan Jackson KC noted the men’s lengthy criminal histories including Hardiman, who was sentenced in 2022 over a ram raid offence.
Earlier this year, Judge Jackson sentenced Hardiman to a wholly suspended sentence and 18-month probation order after he breached the ram raid probation order and robbed an Ashmore newsagency with a mallet, stealing around $400 and several packages on July 15, 2023.
Hardiman was on bail for the post office robbery during the Westfield Coomera offences.
Judge Jackson noted the lengthy time spent in custody and the men’s guilty pleas.
“I hope obviously that you are in fact each genuinely remorseful in relation to your offending and not just pretending to be because you’re being sentenced for it now …” he said.
It was unconfirmed if Hardiman, a New Zealand citizen, would be placed into immigration detention afterwards.
His barrister, Nicholas McGhee said Hardiman’s offending stemmed from a drug relapse and he now recognises he needs to go through rehabilitation.
The court heard Mau also had a history with drugs and his barrister, James Wallace said he completed an opioid treatment program while in custody.
Judge Jackson noted Hardiman’s mental health difficulties, his time spent in custody and the risk of immigration detention.
He also noted Mau was at moderate to high risk of reoffending but heard he had a difficult time in the overcrowded prisons.
Both men was sentenced to three years imprisonment with immediate parole however Mau remained in custody over other matters still before the court.
Their time in custody was taken into account but not declared.
In relation to Mau, Judge Jackson said the sentence might look lenient or wrong.
“But it’s actually the best way to get in the most time supervised as we possibly can and if he really wants to turn his life around, it’s his big opportunity to prove it to the world,” he said.
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Originally published as Teahu Wirangi Hardiman, Emerson John Mau: Westfield Coomera jewellery store robbery foiled by local staff and shoppers
