A New Zealand man has admitted planning a violent robbery at a massage parlor and tying up two workers during the terrifying incident.
James Garner Daniel and Damien Charles Kleidon pleaded guilty to a string of offenses in connection with the robbery at a Thai massage parlour, in Oxenford, on the Gold Coast, on July 1 last year.
Daniel, 39, a New Zealand national, and Kleidon, 36, were sentenced at Southport District Court on Wednesday after they both pleaded guilty to one count each of armed robbery in company, attempted robbery in company and two counts of deprivation of liberty.
Daniel also pleaded guilty to one count of theft, malicious damage and criminal trespass.
The court heard the couple tried to enter the massage parlour, but were confronted by two female workers.
Armed with a fake gun, Daniel ordered the women to hand over money and their phones, Gold Coast Newsletter reported.
Two men have been convicted of the violent armed robbery of a Thai massage parlor in Oxenford on the Gold Coast last July. In the photo the police appear at the scene.
Security cameras at the massage parlor showed the two men fleeing the scene after the robbery.
“If you don’t do what we tell you, I will shoot you,” Daniel told the women.
The court heard that a worker gave Daniel $300 in cash, before he snatched her purse when she refused to hand him her phone.
The other worker gave the men her phone, but she had no money and tried to hide her car keys.
The court heard Kleidon saw a CCTV camera and “disabled” it.
Daniel then pointed the fake gun at the women and ordered them to put their hands behind their backs.
He then used zip ties to tie their hands before taking the women to a massage room where they were prevented from leaving.
Two workers at a Thai massage parlor had their hands tied behind their backs with zip ties during the ordeal. In the photo the police appear at the crime scene.
The court heard that Daniel managed to find car keys belonging to one of the women on a sofa and demanded she give him the pin to unlock her phone.
He smashed her phone and ransacked her car after she refused to give him the code.
The two women managed to escape the room before Daniel and Kleidon fled the scene in a white hatchback.
Police arrived on the scene a short time later and arrested the two men for three days.
The court heard Daniel confessed to committing the crime when questioned by police and said he got the idea to rob the massage parlor after he had been drinking too much.
He told police he needed money and that he and Kleidon were living in his car.
Damien Charles Kleidon (pictured) and his co-defendant James Garner Daniel pleaded guilty to a series of crimes
Kleidon told police he went along with Daniel’s plan to rob the salon “to make sure nothing bad happened.”
The court also heard that Daniel turned to drugs and alcohol after the death of his son and then his mother, who died a week before the robbery.
Daniel was sentenced to five years behind bars, but could be eligible for parole in May 2025.
Kleidon was jailed for three years but could be granted parole within weeks.
