Home invaders guilty of stealing more than $50k

Two men charged with stealing thousands of dollars from a couple in their 60s in a "horrifying" home invasion have been found guilty.

Jeremy Gorinski, 34, and Dinesh Manoharan, 36, were found guilty by a jury in Wellington District Court today of stealing between $50,000 and $80,000 in notes and coins from a Silverstream property north of Wellington on June 19 last year.

They were also given a first warning under the "three strikes" legislation and remanded in custody for sentencing in November.

Judge Davidson ordered a pre-sentence report but said because of the nature of the offence, it would not deal with home detention or community sentences

The trial was told Yvonne Wiffen pleaded for her life when she was forced to open a safe during the robbery in which she and husband Malcolm, both in their 60s, were bound and threatened with sawn-off shotguns.

Crown prosecutor Sally Carter described the incident as "horrifying".

Yesterday Ms Carter told the jury there was no dispute the robbery occurred but they had to decide whether the accused were responsible.

"When looked at together it is what compels you to think it was these two," she said.

Manoharan's lawyer Christopher Stevenson told the jury the Crown case came down to assumptions and guilt by association.

The fact Manoharan was with Gorinski a couple of days after the robbery did not connect him to the crime, he said.

Gorinski's lawyer Keith Jefferies said the lack of evidence was of paramount importance.

There was no DNA at the scene, nor was there any of his client's DNA on a gun found by police.

When the men were arrested, police found various items stolen from the Wiffens' house.

Photo: Supplied