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Offender Databases Leanne Rio

Leanne Kiriona Rio

Alias

.

Offences

Aggravated robbery of a Hawera bank in February 2007
Assaulted and robbed another woman in January 2007

Victims

.

Offender Affiliations

Matene Wilson-Tipa
Conrad Dawson

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1992

Current Location

At large in Hawera

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to two years in July 2007
Front-end home detention application dismissed
Released June 2008

Background
NZ Herald story here and here
Taranaki Daily News story 26/06/2007
A 15-year-old schoolgirl who disguised herself as Batman and robbed a Hawera bank could face up to six years in jail. In the Hawera District Court yesterday, Leanne Kirianu Rio (15) admitted she was the person who wore a Batman mask and robbed Hawera's ASB bank of more than $17,000 in February. She also admitted beating a woman in an Eltham street a month earlier and robbing her of $30. Counsel, Paul Keegan, said Rio also did not deny her involvement in the second robbery on New Year's Day. The revelation came after Rio's case was transferred to the District Court, following a judge's decision not to allow her sentencing in the Youth Court. It is the third case in Taranaki this year, where juveniles have been sent to an adult court for sentencing.

In the bank robbery, Rio disguised herself by wearing a Batman mask and tying her hair up, before she confronted a teller and demanded money. She had previously told police her life was threatened if she didn't carry out the robbery. But Rio's explanation was exposed as lies when she and mastermind of the heist, Matene Wilson-Tipa appeared at a fact hearing earlier this month. Wilson-Tipa and getaway driver Conrad Dawson were subsequently sent to jail for four years and three years respectively following the hearing. In the Eltham incident, Rio and an accomplice beat up a woman in the early hours of New Year's Day after she refused to hand over her handbag. When Rio was punched by the victim, an accomplice joined her and together they beat the woman up. The court heard that Rio split the $30 found in the handbag with the accomplice and used the victim's cell phone for a week.

From the Daily News March 2007
The robbery, in February, netted a group of four about $14,000 in cash, coins and foreign currency. Only a few hundred dollars of the money has been recovered. In evidence, prosecutor Mark Wilton said Wilson-Tipa used his aunty's computer to plan and print details of the bank's layout. He later gave the printout to a female who allegedly carried out the robbery. Mr Wilton said Wilson-Tipa had diverted police attention away from Hawera's CBD, on February 15, when he called the 111 emergency phone number, to report a bomb at the Hawera High School.

"Once the police got to the school, an associate sent a text message to Wilson-Tipa, who was waiting in a van near the bank with two accomplices." Wilson-Tipa took up a position and acted as a lookout, while the female accomplice entered the bank and demanded money. Counsel Rajan Rai said that while his client had admitted his part in the robbery, some of the police summary was disputed. Mr Rai said Wilson-Tipa denied he was the ringleader and had said he received no money from the robbery.

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Corrections and Additional Information
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