Murder – aggravated robbery – s 104(1)(d) Sentencing Act 2002 – murder committed in the course of another serious offence, murder committed in an attempt to avoid detection for aggravated robbery – multiple offenders – early guilty plea – s 103(2) Sentencing Act – use of offensive weapon – s 104 not engaged -returning offender order – public interest case
R v Hobson & Tane [2024] NZHC 1705 as per Moore J
On 26 June 2024, Frederick Gilbert Hobson was sentenced for the murder of Janak Patel. The murder occurred in the wake of an aggravated robbery of the Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham, committed with two accomplices. The victim and his wife had recently moved from Hamilton to Auckland to look after the superette while its owners were away.
The robbery was planned by Hobson, Shane Tane and a third man, Henry Fred, who was the driver. Charges against Fred have been stayed on compassionate grounds because he is terminally ill.
Hobson was armed with a knife and planned to steal the till and anything else he could get his hands on. Tane’s role was to act as lookout and help Hobson.
The robbery was caught on CCTV. Hobson was in a phone booth near the superette, pretended to be on the phone, and can be seen lifting the receiver and holding it to his ear. He moved around in the booth so he could watch the door of the superette. After about five minutes, a car driven by Fred pulled up metres from the phone booth.
Hobson entered the superette, carrying a knife. He picked up the cash register before grabbing a number of items, included a butane lighter and some vapes. He then left and walked around the corner.
Back at the superette, Patel grabbed a hockey stick and chased after Hobson. Patel was stabbed, first three times in quick succession, then a further three times with the final blow to his neck.
Patel escaped but collapsed after five steps. He managed to get back onto his feet and went back to the superette but died from his injuries a short time later.
The first task for Moore J was to set the minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) for Hobson in addition to life imprisonment.
Defence counsel and the Crown disagreed on whether s 104(1)(d) applied. This section comes into play when a murder is committed “in the course of another serious offence”. The Crown said s 104 was engaged because Patel was murdered in the course of the aggravated robbery and it was irrelevant this was committed inside the store or outside on the road. Hobson’s lawyer argued that s 104(1)(d) should apply only if Hobson murdered Patel in the course of executing the aggravated robbery, which his lawyer claims he did not.
The judge agreed that s 104(1)(d) did refer to where a murder was committed in the course of executing another serious offence so s 104(1)(d) did not apply.
The Crown said the second question was whether the murder was committed in an attempt to avoid detection for the aggravated robbery or to otherwise subvert the course of justice. The Crown argued that Hobson murdered Patel in an attempt to protect the stolen property and to avoid detection. The defence disagreed, saying Hobson had walked away after the attack, as Patel no longer posed a threat. This meant Hobson had no intention of eliminating Patel as a witness. The judge agreed that it would be a stretch for s 104(1)(a) to apply.
Having found that none of the factors in s 104 applied, the judge turned to s 103 to decide an appropriate MPI.
The following aggravating factors were present: the use of a weapon, the devastating effect of the killing on Patel’s family, community outrage and fear among shopkeepers across New Zealand. The murder also took place in the aftermath of a premeditated and serious aggravated robbery.
Moore J landed on a starting point of 16 years for the MPI with a six-month uplift for crimes committed two months prior and the fact that Hobson was deported from Australia in 2022. A one-year discount was given for an early guilty plea and a further six months for personal factors relating to the defendant’s upbringing. Hobson was sentenced to a 15 year MPI for the murder of Janak Patel.
Tane’s involvement was limited to the aggravated robbery and he was sentenced to four years, six months imprisonment. Hobson received the same sentence, to be served concurrently with his murder sentence.
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