15 Dec 2015

Bank robber evades preventive detention

12:29 pm on 15 December 2015

An armed bank robber who committed a string of robberies shortly after getting out of prison has escaped an indefinite jail term.

Steven Peri appeared at the High Court in Auckland for robbing a west Auckland bank in June, and the Crown sought preventive detention, arguing Peri had shown a pattern of offending.

But Justice Duffy said Peri was yet to undergo intensive rehabilitation while in prison, and sentenced him to four years and 11 months.

Peri has convictions in Canada for using a gun during a robbery, and has served two prison sentences in New Zealand for robberies.

In the latest, Steven Peri passed a note to a bank teller demanding money and brandished an air pistol, saying he was not afraid to use it.