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Jason Booth
.
Aggravated robbery, non-aggravated robbery, making and possessing an explosive, arson (x2), endangering life by leaving a firearm loaded in Te Rapa in September 2007
.
none known
Born 1988
Prison
Sentenced to seven years in March 2008
Background
Waikato Times story March 28th 2008
A Hamilton man who robbed two banks, once while armed with an imitation bomb, was a "naive young man inclined to romanticism" who did it out of desperation to prevent a "hit" on his girlfriend. Jason Michael Booth, 20, was jailed for seven years when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court yesterday on charges of aggravated robbery, robbery, making and possessing an explosive, two counts of arson, and a charge of endangering life by leaving a firearm loaded.
He had admitted the charges at earlier court appearances. On September 23 last year, Booth threw a molotov cocktail at a house on Dinsdale Rd, after another person had told him there would be a "hit" on his girlfriend if he did not do so. The ensuing fire spread from the doormat, to the front door of the house and surrounding weatherboard, before going into the basement, where the flames ruptured a water pipe, which kept the fire in check until firefighters arrived.
About 4am the following day Booth went back to the address with a 1.5 litre bottle of petrol, again after being told it was necessary to start a fire to cancel the "hit". The insurance payout on the house, which was empty at the time, was expected to be up to $17,000. Later on September 24, Booth drove a car with false numberplates to the ANZ Bank at Te Rapa, with a device designed to look like a bomb.
The device was a bottle filled with petrol and nuts and bolts to act as shrapnel. The bottle was inside a shoebox, and wiring led from the shoebox to a smaller box, designed to look like a detonator. A note was passed to a teller at the ANZ, demanding $50,000 and that the bank's silent alarm should not be activated. Booth left with $3390. The following day, Booth entered Kiwibank at The Base, and demanded $20,000, saying he had a bomb. He left with $1746.
Again, Booth only carried out the robberies after being told he had to do it to cancel the "hit" on his girlfriend, the court heard. Police later searched Booth's home, and found false registration plates, nails, a bolt and speaker wire. A loaded pump-action shotgun was also found in a wardrobe, police said. Booth later admitted his offending to police, but said he was "put up to the offending by another person."
Booth's lawyer, Richard Barnsdale, said Booth was trying to look after his girlfriend. "He was trying to act in what he thought was the protection of his girlfriend," he said. Mr Barnsdale said by the time of the second robbery, Booth was hoping to get caught, and deliberately drove away from the scene slowly. "This man needs a chance to do his time, and sort himself out so he can start again," Mr Barnsdale said.
According to a pre-sentence report, Booth had a history of alcohol and drug abuse, and at one point was using cannabis and methamphetamine daily. Judge Stephen O'Driscoll said the pre-sentence report identified Booth as a "naive young man inclined to romanticism" who struggled to distinguish between fantasy and reality. "For the victims of this offending, this offending was very much a reality for them," the judge said.
