A cellphone call ended a warehouse storeman's ordeal after he was held to the ground during a knifepoint robbery.
The man was the victim in the armed robbery at the Cloudy Bay Business Park near Blenheim on October 30.
In the Blenheim District Court yesterday, Francis Bronson Freemantle, 24, deckhand, admitted conspiring to commit a burglary. He also admitted receiving stolen items, and two charges of being a party to receiving.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Steve Frost said Freemantle sent text messages to co-accused Daniel Winiata Kemp, 22, of Blenheim, to organise the robbery and theft of electronic items. Freemantle later told police that he gave Kemp a pair of boltcutters, knowing he was planning the robbery.
The victim was working alone and was unloading a truck at the warehouse when Kemp and another man approached him about 2.30am on October 30, Mr Frost said.
Kemp forced the man to the ground, and a knife was jabbed into his left side. The man was told to keep his head on the ground, cover his eyes and not look, Mr Frost said.
Kemp stood over the man while his associate backed up a stolen white Toyota van and more than $20,000 worth of electronic equipment, including 13 flat-screen televisions, was loaded inside.
The men left the warehouse in the van when someone called the victim's cellphone.
About four hours later, Freemantle sent texts to Kemp offering to sell some items for him because he "knew people who knew people", Mr Frost said.
Freemantle sold two TVs for $750 and bought one himself for $350.
Freemantle was remanded on bail to be sentenced on February 8.
Kemp, who faces a charge of aggravated robbery, will remain in custody until January 10, when he is due to apply for electronically monitored bail.
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