Latest news with #looting
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Father and daughter's $200k ATM heist in Hillcrest lands them home detention
By Belinda Feek, Open Justice reporter of Jessie-Lee Daniela-Ranford, of Te Awamutu, and her father James Lindsay Ranford, of Hamilton. Photo: Belinda Feek / NZME A father and daughter who looted almost $200,000 from an ATM claim $159,000 of the cash, which police are still searching for, has been spent. Jessie-Lee Daniela-Ranford and James Lindsay Ranford have said they used the stolen funds on drug debts, rent, vehicles and tangihanga. Last year's heist was carried out by Daniela-Ranford, a former Armourguard employee, who enlisted the help of Ranford, her now terminally-ill father, to act as her getaway driver. Police have only been able to reclaim about $34,000 of the stolen money . The pair were due to be sentenced in the Hamilton District Court last month and, despite questioning, both denied knowing where the money was. At their sentence indication hearing earlier this year, a police prosecutor believed it may be buried somewhere on Coromandel Peninsula. Judge Glen Marshall adjourned the case to give them time to recall where the money was, suggesting that if they could it would keep them out of prison. This week, they returned to court on their burglary charges and, through affidavits, said they'd spent the money on debts, rent, vehicles and tangihanga. On 31 May, last year, at 4.16pm, Ranford, 60, and his daughter parked outside Yukedas Party and Gift Store in Hillcrest. The pair had slightly altered the registration plates of their Nissan Tiida by changing one of the numbers. Dressed in all black, 26-year-old Daniela-Ranford, of Te Awamutu, got out of the car with her hood up. She walked into the store and went straight to an ATM. Daniela-Ranford entered two codes, which she had learned during her time with Armourguard, and removed five cash canisters containing $50 and $20 notes, court documents stated. She then got into the back seat of the car and Ranford took off "at high speed", heading east along Clyde St. A short time later, the Nissan was set alight on Holland Rd, Eureka, on the outskirts of Hamilton. The pair was later captured on CCTV at Z petrol station in Hautapu in a Mitsubishi Outlander, registered in Daniela-Radford's name. At their sentencing, a police prosecutor said the burglary had caused significant harm to the community. "I do find it quite hard to believe that the money has just evaporated on various debts and things and it would be the police submission that a sentence of imprisonment is appropriate," she said. But Daniela-Ranford's counsel, Jaiden Manera, pushed for 60 percent in discounts so the end sentence would fall within a range where home detention could be considered. He submitted that his client was the sole caregiver of her two children and if she was sent to prison it was "unclear what the childcare arrangements would be". She also had a clean criminal history, was subjected to childhood deprivation, qualified for a youth discount and was genuinely remorseful. "It is clear that this offending is out of character for Daniela-Ranford and, of course, it has all the hallmarks of desperation and perhaps irrational thinking," he said. "This offending has had a tremendous impact on her personal life ... and has been a real wake-up call for her." She would also agree to pay a maximum of $40,000 in reparation, he said. Defence counsel Shelley Gilbert said Ranford, who lives in Hamilton, has terminal stage 4 bladder cancer, but no one was able to give a timeframe as to when he would go into hospice care and he remained on medication. Although a pre-sentence report recommended the pair should be jailed, Gilbert said a clinical psychologist's report stated that prison would be "inappropriate" for Ranford, given his condition. "Ranford would be a model home detention detainee and hoped to spend his remaining time with his grandchildren and daughter," she said. "As to the money? It has been spent. "Is that acceptable? No, and Ranford does not suggest that it is." He had bought $1500 to court as reparation but had earmarked that for his funeral, and Gilbert asked the judge to allow him to keep it for that purpose. "His particular concern is for his daughter. "If he could do anything to take [the offending] back ... if he could bring the money here today, he would have." Hamilton District Court. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Judge Marshall accepted what the pair had stated in their affidavits - that at the time, there were tangihanga that the money went towards and "considerable debts" for Ranford's substance abuse. As for Daniela-Ranford, she admitted she'd received $40,000 but said she had spent it on debts and rent. "It still is somewhat puzzling how so much money went so quickly," the judge said. However, given their respective circumstances, he agreed neither should go to jail. He sentenced both to 10 months' home detention and ordered them each to pay a reparation of $20,000 in instalments. Ranford was also disqualified from driving for 12 months. - This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
How Israeli-backed gangs in Gaza are extorting starving civilians
How Israeli-backed gangs in Gaza are extorting starving civilians NewsFeed Criminal gangs in Gaza—sometimes supplied with and protected by Israeli weapons—are looting aid trucks carrying food meant for hungry civilians. Video Duration 01 minutes 10 seconds 01:10 Video Duration 01 minutes 57 seconds 01:57 Video Duration 00 minutes 31 seconds 00:31 Video Duration 01 minutes 05 seconds 01:05 Video Duration 01 minutes 33 seconds 01:33 Video Duration 02 minutes 03 seconds 02:03 Video Duration 00 minutes 34 seconds 00:34
Arab News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Syrian Druze say govt mission of peace devolved into rampage
SWEIDA: The mainly Druze residents of the Syrian city of Sweida had hoped the arrival of government forces on Tuesday would spell an end to deadly sectarian clashes with local Bedouin tribes. Instead they spoke of executions, looting and arson as government troops and their allies rampaged through Druze neighborhoods, prompting thousands from the religious minority to flee. 'Government forces entered the city on the pretext of restoring order... but unfortunately they indulged in savage practices,' said Rayan Maarouf, editor in chief of the Suwayda 24 news website. 'There have been cases of civilians being killed... dozens of them... but we don't have precise figures,' he added, blaming government fighters and their allies. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, government forces executed 12 civilians in a guesthouse in the city, in just one incident among many said to have taken place in the area. Syria's defense minister had declared a 'complete ceasefire' in the city late Tuesday morning, but locals said the announcement had little effect on the ground. An AFP correspondent who entered Sweida shortly after government forces reported dead bodies left lying on deserted streets as sporadic gunfire rang out. 'I'm in the center of Sweida. There are executions, houses and shops that have been torched, and robberies and looting,' one Sweida resident holed up in his home told AFP by phone. 'One of my friends who lives in the west of the city told me that they entered his home, chased out his family after taking their mobile phones and then set fire to it,' added the resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. AFP correspondents saw smoke rising over several areas of the city of some 150,000 people. Another resident said he had seen armed men in civilian clothes 'looting shops and setting fire to them.' 'They're firing indiscriminately, I am afraid to leave the house,' he said, adding that he regretted 'not leaving before they arrived.' On Tuesday, government forces entered Sweida with the stated aim of ending the sectarian violence that had claimed more than 100 lives earlier this week. But the Observatory, Druze leaders and witnesses said they entered the city accompanied by Bedouin fighters, and joined with them in attacking the Druze. One AFP video showed Bedouin fighters riding through the streets on a government tank, brandishing their weapons in celebration. The fighters toppled several statues in public squares, AFP images showed. Hard-line Islamists believe such representations of the human form to be idolatrous. Unverified video footage circulating on social media showed armed men forcibly shaving off the moustache of an elderly Druze, a grave insult in the community. The Israeli military said it had carried out several air strikes on the forces that entered Sweida. An AFP correspondent saw one Syrian army vehicle in the city center that had taken a direct hit. Several bodies were left dangling over its sides. The Israeli military said it was acting to protect the Druze, although some analysts have said that was a pretext for pursuing its own military goals. Thousands of the city's residents fled, seeking safety nearer the Jordanian border, Maarouf said. In the nearby village of Walgha, an AFP correspondent found a group of displaced civilians sheltering in a mosque.
France 24
4 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Syrian Druze say govt mission of peace devolved into rampage
Instead they spoke of executions, looting and arson as government troops and their allies rampaged through Druze neighbourhoods, prompting thousands from the religious minority to flee. "Government forces entered the city on the pretext of restoring order... but unfortunately they indulged in savage practices," said Rayan Maarouf, editor in chief of the Suwayda 24 news website. "There have been cases of civilians being killed... dozens of them... but we don't have precise figures," he added, blaming government fighters and their allies. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, government forces executed 12 civilians in a guesthouse in the city, in just one incident among many said to have taken place in the area. Syria's defence minister had declared a "complete ceasefire" in the city late Tuesday morning, but locals said the announcement had little effect on the ground. An AFP correspondent who entered Sweida shortly after government forces reported dead bodies left lying on deserted streets as sporadic gunfire rang out. "I'm in the centre of Sweida. There are executions, houses and shops that have been torched, and robberies and looting," one Sweida resident holed up in his home told AFP by phone. "One of my friends who lives in the west of the city told me that they entered his home, chased out his family after taking their mobile phones and then set fire to it," added the resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. AFP correspondents saw smoke rising over several areas of the city of some 150,000 people. Another resident said he had seen armed men in civilian clothes "looting shops and setting fire to them". "They're firing indiscriminately, I am afraid to leave the house," he said, adding that he regretted "not leaving before they arrived". Civilians killed It is a scenario that has played out multiple times since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels in December. In each case, former rebels recruited into the new Syrian army were joined by fighters without any clear uniform, and violence against civilians ensued. The worst episode was in March, when more than 1,700 civilians were killed along Syria's Mediterranean coast -- most of them members of the ousted president's Alawite community -- in attacks carried out by government forces and their allies. On Tuesday, government forces entered Sweida with the stated aim of ending the sectarian violence that had claimed more than 100 lives earlier this week. But the Observatory, Druze leaders and witnesses said they entered the city accompanied by Bedouin fighters, and joined with them in attacking the Druze. One AFP video showed Bedouin fighters riding through the streets on a government tank, brandishing their weapons in celebration. Statues destroyed The fighters toppled several statues in public squares, AFP images showed. Hardline Islamists believe such representations of the human form to be idolatrous. Unverified video footage circulating on social media showed armed men forcibly shaving off the moustache of an elderly Druze, a grave insult in the community. The Israeli military said it had carried out several air strikes on the forces that entered Sweida. An AFP correspondent saw one Syrian army vehicle in the city centre that had taken a direct hit. Several bodies were left dangling over its sides. The Israeli military said it was acting to protect the Druze, although some analysts have said that was a pretext for pursuing its own military goals. Thousands of the city's residents fled, seeking safety nearer the Jordanian border, Maarouf said. In the nearby village of Walgha, an AFP correspondent found a group of displaced civilians sheltering in a mosque. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Syrian Druze say govt mission of peace devolved into rampage
The mainly Druze residents of the Syrian city of Sweida had hoped the arrival of government forces on Tuesday would spell an end to deadly sectarian clashes with local Bedouin tribes. Instead they spoke of executions, looting and arson as government troops and their allies rampaged through Druze neighbourhoods, prompting thousands from the religious minority to flee. "Government forces entered the city on the pretext of restoring order... but unfortunately they indulged in savage practices," said Rayan Maarouf, editor in chief of the Suwayda 24 news website. "There have been cases of civilians being killed... dozens of them... but we don't have precise figures," he added, blaming government fighters and their allies. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, government forces executed 12 civilians in a guesthouse in the city, in just one incident among many said to have taken place in the area. Syria's defence minister had declared a "complete ceasefire" in the city late Tuesday morning, but locals said the announcement had little effect on the ground. An AFP correspondent who entered Sweida shortly after government forces reported dead bodies left lying on deserted streets as sporadic gunfire rang out. "I'm in the centre of Sweida. There are executions, houses and shops that have been torched, and robberies and looting," one Sweida resident holed up in his home told AFP by phone. "One of my friends who lives in the west of the city told me that they entered his home, chased out his family after taking their mobile phones and then set fire to it," added the resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. AFP correspondents saw smoke rising over several areas of the city of some 150,000 people. Another resident said he had seen armed men in civilian clothes "looting shops and setting fire to them". "They're firing indiscriminately, I am afraid to leave the house," he said, adding that he regretted "not leaving before they arrived". - Civilians killed - It is a scenario that has played out multiple times since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels in December. In each case, former rebels recruited into the new Syrian army were joined by fighters without any clear uniform, and violence against civilians ensued. The worst episode was in March, when more than 1,700 civilians were killed along Syria's Mediterranean coast -- most of them members of the ousted president's Alawite community -- in attacks carried out by government forces and their allies. On Tuesday, government forces entered Sweida with the stated aim of ending the sectarian violence that had claimed more than 100 lives earlier this week. But the Observatory, Druze leaders and witnesses said they entered the city accompanied by Bedouin fighters, and joined with them in attacking the Druze. One AFP video showed Bedouin fighters riding through the streets on a government tank, brandishing their weapons in celebration. - Statues destroyed - The fighters toppled several statues in public squares, AFP images showed. Hardline Islamists believe such representations of the human form to be idolatrous. Unverified video footage circulating on social media showed armed men forcibly shaving off the moustache of an elderly Druze, a grave insult in the community. The Israeli military said it had carried out several air strikes on the forces that entered Sweida. An AFP correspondent saw one Syrian army vehicle in the city centre that had taken a direct hit. Several bodies were left dangling over its sides. The Israeli military said it was acting to protect the Druze, although some analysts have said that was a pretext for pursuing its own military goals. Thousands of the city's residents fled, seeking safety nearer the Jordanian border, Maarouf said. In the nearby village of Walgha, an AFP correspondent found a group of displaced civilians sheltering in a mosque. bur-at/sg/kir/smw
