The two men were careful to disguise their appearances with hoodies and masks as they rushed the jewellery store at a busy mall with a hammer last year, shattering display cases and running off with almost $215,000 worth of loot that was never recovered.
But just three days later, their spree unravelled when they set their criminal aspirations significantly lower: the $4500 heist of Glen Eden PostShop.
Although the duo again wore masks, it was one of the men’s distinctive lower back tattoos – reading “OUTDAWGZ” – that helped police to solve the case as they reviewed the CCTV footage.
Tamamohi Cashell and Jason Reece Flavell, both 24, returned to court last week as a judge ordered twin five-year sentences for their crimes.
“The potential for harm cannot be overstated,” Judge David Sharp said of the robberies, describing “a hostile and fearful environment for the public and staff”.
Bystanders at Westfield St Lukes Mall in Auckland filmed the heist on January 7 last year as the duo, with two unknown people, entered the Michael Hill Jewellers store at 3.30pm.
Cashell and Flavell both ran up to the centre counter and tried to smash the glass cabinets with a hammer. When that didn’t work, Cashell hopped on to the counter and started jumping in an effort to break it, according to court documents and a witness’ video.
Dramatic footage taken by bystanders showed the robbery at the Michael Hill jewellery store in Westfield St Lukes mall in Auckland.
The store’s fog cannon went off and activity in the mall came to a halt as those present turned their focus nervously to the store.
One shopkeeper who chased the bandits through the mall described the chaotic scene to the Herald last year.
“I was in my store working and we could just hear the fog cannons go off and a big bang,” he said.
“Everyone just stood around ... [but] mine and [a Stirling Sports worker’s] instincts were to just run after them, get the rego and do what we could.”
The two men, with two security guards, followed the fleeing robbers to the mall’s rooftop carpark. The panting good Samaritan took video as a getaway car swerved to avoid him while racing off.
Stores immediately locked up, allowing nearby shoppers to take refuge inside. The witness described some elderly bystanders “freaking out”.
On the day before the heist, Cashell and a 21-year-old co-defendant – who has pleaded guilty but is yet to be sentenced – stole an $8000 Subaru Legacy from central Auckland.
Cashell and Flavell fled the mall in the stolen Subaru – but first they handed some of the stolen items to the occupants of a Mazda, who fled the scene separately.
Police caught up to the Mazda a short time later, taking into custody two youths and a 19-year-old woman. But by the time they found the Subaru, it had been abandoned. Some jewellery and trays from the store were still inside.
Cashell and Flavell had, for the time being, got away with it.
Less than an hour after the heist, the 21-year-old co-defendant pawned two 10ct gold bangles and three 10ct gold chains to a New Lynn shop for $1500.
However, he wouldn’t be arrested until 10 days later, when he and four others targeted a Glen Eden dairy, threatening the shopkeeper with a hammer as they stole the till and about $500 worth of cigarettes.
A witness saw the bandits putting the stolen items into the 21-year-old’s Mercedes-Benz. Police located the vehicle and pulled the defendant over, finding the till and the stolen cigarettes still in the boot.
Cashell and Flavell, meanwhile, went on the prowl again three days after the Michael Hill heist.
The masked pair entered the Glen Eden PostShop just after midday and ran straight to the counter, diving under the security screen.
The pair located four tills, throwing them over the counter.
“Mr Flavell stacked three of the tills on top of each other and ran out of the store while Mr Cashell picked up the last till from the ground,” court documents recount.
“As Mr Cashell was collecting the till from the ground, his clothing came up, exposing his lower back.
“Mr Cashell’s distinctive lower back tattoo, ‘OUTDAWGZ’, was exposed.”
They escaped again that day, but it was just a matter of time. They had already given police the clue needed to crack the case.
Authorities later found the tills discarded in a Henderson creek, minus the roughly $4500 that was estimated to have been inside them. The cash was never recovered.
Standing in Auckland District Court last week, the pair faced up to 14 years’ imprisonment for the two aggravated robberies.
Crown prosecutor Samara Wakefield described the offences as “extreme-type offending”, pointing out that the jewellery store was targeted in broad daylight in the middle of school holidays.
“While no physical harm, of course there’s mental and emotional harm that would have been felt by those in the stores, but also those observing,” she told the judge.
Despite his relatively young age, Cashell – already a serving prisoner – had managed to rack up a disconcerting criminal history, she said.
He was convicted of two aggravated robberies in 2021, while still a teenager. He was released on parole on October 15, 2024, and commenced a seven-month crime spree just two days later.
Cashell was sentenced again in September last year to 25 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to trying to steal a car; parole breaches; kicking another Michael Hill employee in Sylvia Park shopping centre after asking to try on an $8000 ring then walking out while wearing it; attacking two prison officers severely enough that they both sustained concussions; and driving while forbidden.
“His behaviour has escalated,” she added, explaining that his “extensive” Youth Court notations included lower-level robberies, thefts and dishonesty-type offending.
But defence lawyer Luke Ameye pointed out that the latest sentencing was for crimes committed as part of the same spree he was sentenced for last year. But for a disclosure snafu that caused a significant delay, all of the cases would have been sentenced together, he suggested.
The lawyer urged the judge to make the new sentence concurrent with Cashell’s other sentence rather than stipulating that it not start until the other sentence ends in February.
The judge agreed, noting that he is already showing signs of institutionalisation after having spent much of his life in custody, starting in his mid-teens.
Flavell also has an extensive criminal history, with 32 prior convictions – a list mostly consisting of dishonesty crimes but also including a 2024 aggravated robbery and two violence charges.
Defence lawyer Baden Meyer apologised on Flavell’s behalf, noting that a standard letter of remorse wasn’t submitted to the court due to his client’s literacy issues.
“Mr Flavell understands that his behaviour is not only criminal but is unacceptable in a civilised society,” he said. “He regrets his actions.
“When he is granted parole, he intends to put this ... behaviour behind him.”
Judge Sharp acknowledged a psychological report showing that Cashell suffered PTSD as a result of abuse suffered in childhood and likely ADHD, resulting in “a long-standing pattern of ... difficulty avoiding impulsive actions”.
“You have experienced adversity since infancy,” he said.
Flavell, the judge noted, was reported to have started using cannabis at age 7 or 8, and by age 12 he was committing burglaries to buy the drug. He also developed a methamphetamine habit, smoking about 1-2g per week, but didn’t see it as a major hindrance in his life, the judge noted.
While also showing extensive institutionalisation from childhood, Flavell has recently expressed a motivation to change, the court was told.
Judge Sharp ordered a combined starting point of nine years for both robberies but then shaved off a year to account for totality. Further reductions for their guilty pleas, youth and personal circumstances brought the sentences down to five years.
“You both have significant issues,” the judge told the defendants as they stood side by side in the dock. “The reports do not identify a clear pathway for your rehabilitation, and there are real concerns ...”
He described the robberies as “antisocial”, having risked significant harm to bystanders.
“People were terrified by the actions that you took,” he said.
