As armed men intent on robbing Ash Parmar’s bottle shop stormed the entry, one of them leaped the counter and came face-to-face with the terrified retailer.

But when 29-year-old Kaya Aremete-Rota jumped, his mask slipped and Parmar recognised him as a regular customer in the Huntly Bottle-O.

It didn’t stop the overwhelming fear Parmar felt for his life and that of his elderly mother who was also in the store that July 2019 day.

Aremete-Rota came within inches of Parmar’s face in a confronting manner as his associates stole a large amount of alcohol, yelling threats and obscenities at the store owner and his mother, then aged in her late 60s.

It was one of two armed robberies to hit the store just days apart.

Aremete-Rota was charged with robbery and eventually found guilty at trial.

Today, during his sentencing in the Hamilton District Court, he was the one being confronted by Parmar, who told the Ngāruawāhia man the ordeal had left him with a life sentence of fear and distrust.

Though it was over in a matter of minutes, the effect on Parmar had been substantial, he told Judge Brett Crowley.

Reading his victim impact statement, Parmar said the incident had “changed my outlook on life forever”.

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“It was a difficult moment in my life which I, unfortunately, shared with my mother.

“She has always been someone I had looked up to for courage and strength. It was soul-crushing to see how much it broke her.”

It had also affected his business and how he dealt with his customers; stating he was now more judgmental of people and kept the door locked for fear of it happening again.

“Now I’m genuinely scared of working at my store. I keep the door locked and unfortunately, I’m constantly profiling customers.

“Every time someone is running in the business carpark my heart races and it absolutely terrifies me.”

He had since become a spokesman for retailers in Waikato and around New Zealand to try to highlight the impact robberies and ram raids had on them.

Crown prosecutor Paige Noorland said the robbery was anything but opportunistic, as the group had stolen a car shortly beforehand, and were motivated to steal the stock inside Bottle-O.

The number of offenders involved was also aggravating and no doubt exacerbated the fear the two victims felt.

Counsel for Aremete-Rota, Gerard Walsh, said while he knew the incident had affected Parmar he wasn’t sure that all the blame should be at his client’s feet.

The case had been stretched out longer than needed due to bungles by investigating police.

The court heard that while Parmar had diligently compiled and given a large amount of CCTV footage to police, none of it was shown to the jury at trial, due to error.

The trial had to be aborted part way through, and delayed 12 months after police produced photos from the wrong aggravated robbery.

Walsh pushed for discounts to Aremete-Rota’s end sentence due to the delay, along with the contents of his Section 27 cultural report.

Judge Crowley spoke of Parmar’s statement and how “extremely confronting” it must have been to have Aremete-Rota jump the counter and up to his face.

It was at that moment - and when his mask slipped slightly - that Parmar recognised the Ngāruawāhia man as a regular customer in his shop.

The judge said it was unfortunate the CCTV footage couldn’t be played to the jury as police had not disclosed it to Walsh.

The judge also praised Parmar for remaining calm during the robbery, despite being “rightly terrified”.

However, he also noted Aremete-Rota’s cultural report and his upbringing meant he was “set up to fail” as an adult.

The robbery wasn’t the only crime Aremete-Rota had been involved in at that time - two burglaries on either side of the robbery resulted in him being jailed for 18 months.

After applying various discounts, Judge Crowley sentenced Aremete-Rota to three years and three months in prison.

-Belinda Feek, Open Justice