A carpark attack described by a judge as “cowardly and brutal” has seen a defendant sentenced to 11-and-a-half-months of home detention.

Jay Jay Ratana-Manuel, 26, was sentenced by Judge Paul Geoghegan in Whakatāne District Court this week.

According to court documents read aloud during the sentencing, Ratana-Manuel repeatedly attacked a man who slowly reversed into his car in Te Puke in September 2023.

Ratana-Manuel was a passenger in his car, which was due to be sold, and had his three young children in the backseat, including his newborn baby.

Judge Geoghegan said Ratana-Manuel got of the car and approached the victim, who wound down his car’s window and apologised.

Ratana-Manuel punched the victim in the face through the open window.

The victim made multiple attempts to escape Ratana-Manuel’s assault. When he closed his window, Ratana-Manuel opened the door.

The victim drove forward, mounting a kerb and Ratana-Manuel followed, punching him four more times.

When the victim got out of his vehicle to try and get away, Ratana-Manuel grabbed him by the neck and held him against the car before throwing him to the ground with enough force to knock him unconscious.

Ratana-Manuel punched the victim in the head again while he was unconscious.

“He was left unconscious, bloody and bruised,” Judge Geoghegan said.

“It was by any standard a cowardly and brutal attack on someone who did not deserve it.”

The victim suffered a fractured skull, multiple bruises and facial swelling.

Ratana-Manuel had two previous assault convictions from 2018 and 2019.

He told pre-sentence report writers that he was furious in the moment but was devastated with his actions afterwards.

In a separate incident in June last year, Ratana-Manuel was charged with unlawful hunting and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Judge Geoghegan said he went into the bush with a co-offender and hunted without a permit or any form of permission.

The area they entered consisted of large blocks of land leased to forestry companies, which were commonly hunted in.

After hunting in one spot, Ratana-Manuel and the co-offender drove off towards Gisborne, continuing to hunt along the way.

The following day, police located a firearm in the passenger footwell of Ratana-Manuel’s vehicle and a dead pig and deer in the back.

Judge Geoghegan acknowledged that since his offending, Ratana-Manuel had gone to considerable lengths to work on himself, attending several programmes including Destiny Church’s Man Up programme and Tūhoe Hauora’s anger management counselling.

He said the defendant had no issues with alcohol or drugs.

The judge said a 23-month prison sentence converted to home detention would allow Ratana-Manuel to continue accessing the programmes and counselling that had helped him so far, maintain relationships with his three children and the fourth that is due soon.

Paperwork delays Crown case

The transfer of paperwork from police to Crown prosecutors has delayed the case of two young people accused of aggravated robbery.

Keleigh Cairah Whioke-Nelson and Bailey Taiatini have each been charged with aggravated robbery. Whioke-Nelson also faces a charge of wilful damage.

She has pleaded not guilty to both charges. Taiatini has not entered a plea.

Both were remanded on bail to mid-February.

Bail granted

William John Owen-Jacobs has been granted bail for multiple new charges laid against him recently.

He has not entered any plea to new charges of assault of a child, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.

Owen-Jacobs is due back in court in February to enter pleas, and a month later is expected back for case review hearings, a judge alone trial and sentencing on several other charges.

Jury trial elected

Tāneatua builder Shane Toman, 29, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of shooting a firearm at a person with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm.

He has elected a trial by jury.

Toman also pleaded not guilty to driving while disqualified and breaching his home detention sentence.

Defence lawyer Steve Franklin said bail had been declined previously and was now in the hands of the High Court.

Toman was remanded in custody to April 4 for a case review hearing.

Drink driving admitted

Francis Piripi Karaitiana has pleaded guilty to driving contrary to his zero-alcohol licence.

He was remanded to the end of next month for sentencing.

Judge gives grim prediction

An Ōpōtiki man who sought a new community work sentence – despite having 199.5 hours outstanding since June last year – has been given a stark warning about what will happen if he does not do his sentence.

Cruz Tai Ngamoki, 33, pleaded guilty to charges of threatening behaviour and wilful damage.

Defence lawyer David Pawson sought a sentence of community work and reparation, but an in-court probation representative said he was currently non-compliant on a community work sentence.

Ngamoki was sentenced to 200 hours in June for wilful damage. In order to impose the sentence, the judge cancelled another 150-hour community work sentence that he was not doing.

This week, Judge Geoghegan said if Ngamoki did not do his community work, the next judge would want to impose an electronically monitored sentence, and if an address was not available, he would go to prison.

“That is what is going to happen unless you pull your finger out and do your community work.”

He said Ngamoki was unemployed and there was no reason why he could not do the sentence.

“If you find yourself in prison for a few months, that’s on you. But none of that needs to happen.”

For the charges this week, Ngamoki was sentenced to 12 months’ supervision and was ordered to pay $100 in reparations.

Fifth drink drive admitted

Nesbit Nepata Maxwell admitted driving with excess breath alcohol. It was his fifth conviction.

Due to his history of offending, Judge Geoghegan ordered a pre-sentence report and remanded Maxwell on bail to next month for sentencing.

Sentencing adjourned

A serial disqualified driver was convicted for the 12th time this week and succeeded in gaining himself five weeks to reduce the number of community work hours he has outstanding.

Whakatāne man Joshua Haze Allen, 33, was sentenced to 80 hours of community work in November and has done seven.

He told the judge that he wanted time to finish the hours before being sentenced again.

Allen said he was meeting with his probation officer after court to see what his options were to chip away at his hours more frequently than normal.

Judge Geoghegan remanded him to February 27 for sentencing, noting that it should give Allen lots of time to do his community work.

Mixed pleas

Chevon Toarangatira Te-Hau-waho appeared in court on a raft of charges and entered a mixture of pleas.

He admitted breaching bail on three occasions, giving false details to police, driving while disqualified and breaching a community work sentence.

Te-Hauwaho denied two counts of escaping police custody and one of burglary.

The latter was remanded back to the court of origin, Hamilton, for a case review hearing in April.

Two weeks prior, he is expected back in Whakatāne District Court.

Bail granted

Kawerau man Tetini Tutai has admitted possessing an offensive weapon and was released from custody on bail.

Tutai faces a second charge of threatening to kill, to which he did not enter a plea.

He was remanded to next month.

Bail granted with translator’s help

A last-minute call to a Tongan interpreter allowed a bail hearing to be held for Honolio Falesima Pousini.

The Ōpōtiki kiwifruit worker has been charged with behaving threateningly and speaking threateningly. He has not entered any pleas.

Judge Geoghegan granted Pousini bail with conditions.

Pousini must not be found within 25 kilometres of Ōpōtiki, must report to Whakatāne Police Station three times a week, must not have any contact with the complainant, and must surrender his passport to police.

He was remanded to reappear next month.

Restorative justice directed

Hira Moanaroa Tawa pleaded guilty to amended police charges and has been directed to restorative justice.

Police amended a charge of injuring with intent to injure to assault with intent to injure, and withdrew a charge of possession of cannabis seed.

Tawa admitted possession of cannabis for supply, possession of a non-prohibited firearm and assault with intent to injure and was remanded to March for sentencing.