Police had to carry offender out of river

After assaulting his partner multiple times in one day, Ōpōtiki man Ray Paul jumped into a nearby river in efforts to evade police, the court heard at his sentencing this week.

Paul, 35, and his victim were both homeless at the time of the offending and had been camping in the Whakatāne district.

They have a child together, who was not in their care or present at the time.

Judge Melinda Mason said at 2pm on January 26, Paul became angry at the victim and struck her in the head, side and stomach.

He took her phone from her hand when she attempted to call for help.

Later that same day, Paul awoke in the tent with the victim. Still angry, he grabbed her by the thigh and threw her to the ground outside of the tent.

She told him she was going for a walk and called the police.

Judge Mason said Paul initially looked as if he would comply with the responding police officers, but he ran around the campsite and jumped into a nearby river instead.

She said there was a significant struggle to arrest the defendant, who had to be carried out of the river to the patrol car.

Paul pleaded guilty previously to charges of injuring with intent to injure, assault on a person in a family relationship, contravening a protection order and two counts of resisting police.

Judge Mason set a sentencing start point of 24 months’ prison and after adjusting for aggravating and mitigating factors, sentenced Paul to 20.5 months’ imprisonment.

He will be subject to six months of release conditions.

Woman imprisoned for stabbing sister

Jazmin Herewini was sentenced to 17 months in prison for stabbing her sister in the arm and shoplifting twice.

Judge Mason said Herewini was at an address on Salonika Street when the victim and the defendant’s partner arrived in a ute together.

The defendant accused the pair of cheating together.

Judge Mason said the victim attempted to hide behind the door of the ute, but Herewini lunged at her and stabbed her twice in the arm before her partner managed to calm her down.

The larger of the two wounds was 1.6cm wide and 0.6cm deep and required stitches.

On a separate occasion, Herewini entered a Whakatāne store and crawled below the height of the counter to avoid being seen.

Judge Mason said she took GHD hair straighteners valued at $690 and yelled “serves you right” as she left.

Another day, the defendant entered Hunting and Fishing Whakatāne, which she had been trespassed from.

She stole 12 clothing items ranging in sizes from children to adult, totalling $884.99.

As she left the store, Herewini set off the alarm and was followed by the manager and another staff member.

When they caught up to her, she said “do you want me to stab you?” while holding a pair of scissors.

She lunged at the victim and missed but struck a vehicle.

Herewini was due for sentencing this week having pleaded guilty to injuring with intent to injure, speaking threateningly, wilful damage, wilful trespass, two counts of speaking threateningly and two counts of shoplifting.

She has been in custody on remand for eight months.

Judge Mason acknowledged that a cultural report raised multiple issues in Herewini’s background and noted that the defendant had completed a Limited-Service Volunteer course where she had succeeded as a leader.

Herewini will be subject to six months of release conditions at the end of her prison sentence. She was ordered to pay $690 reparation for the hair straighteners.

Meth dealer sentenced

Kawerau woman Nadia Gilmour has been sentenced to home detention for dealing 10 grams of methamphetamine.

The defendant admitted the charge of supplying methamphetamine in February.

Judge Mason said that Gilmour was the passenger of a vehicle that parked at The Hub carpark at about 3.30am on May 25.

A passing police car approached them, and Gilmour admitted being in possession of some dried cannabis.

Police searched Gilmour, her associate and their vehicle. They found 8.89 grams of cannabis in the defendant’s handbag, 278g of cannabis leaf in the car, and 33.94g of meth both in the car and on the associate.

The judge said Gilmour had already been sentenced for possessing the cannabis and a pipe.

Police seized Gilmour’s cell phone during the search and found Facebook messages and texts across a one-month period. They showed Gimour offering to supply a total of 10 grams of meth on various occasions.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Ian Dodds said the volume was at the lower end of the supply scale.

Judge Mason acknowledged the defendant’s addiction issues and that the dealing earned her limited financial gain.

Defence lawyer Rebekah Webby said a cultural report gave substantive rise to why Gilmour found herself in the situation, with issues starting from childhood.

The judge said she was surprised given the defendant’s background that she had otherwise been a good member of society, and these were her first convictions.

She sentenced Gilmour to six-and-a half-months’ home detention and six months of post detention conditions.

Short prison term

Mangakakahi man Tauhu Mitai-Ngatai has been sentenced to 14 days’ imprisonment for eight offences committed across Whakatāne and Rotorua.

Mitai-Ngatai, 64, pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon, possessing a knife in public, possession of cannabis and disorderly behaviour, all laid in relation to his actions at The Strand, Whakatāne on March 14.

He also admitted doing an indecent act with intent to offend, refusing an officer’s request for a blood sample, breaching district court bail, and breaching police bail, which were charges laid in the Rotorua court.

Defence lawyer Jonathan Kay, who was assigned on the Whakatāne charges, said the offensive weapon that police described as a “wooden pole” was a carved taiaha.

He said Mitai-Ngatai was demonstrating it, not intending to frighten anyone.

The knife police found in his car was used for fishing, Mr Kay said, and the defendant claimed the cannabis belonged to someone else, but he accepted that it was also found in his car.

Mitai-Ngatai had another lawyer for the Rotorua charges, which were not spoken about in any detail during the hearing.

They were captured in a sentence of 14 days’ imprisonment and six months of release conditions.

Police sought that the weapons be destroyed, but Mr Kay said the taiaha was a family heirloom and requested that it be released to a named family member instead.

Judge Mason ordered that the knife be destroyed and permitted the release of the taiaha.

Mitai-Ngatai was disqualified from driving for a year and a day.

Charges admitted, case transferred

Former Tāneatua man Tuhoe Heurea will appear in the Porirua District Court for sentencing next month after admitting six charges this week.

Heurea pleaded guilty on Wednesday to assaulting a person with a pair of scissors, assault on a person in a family relationship, threatening to kill, wilful trespass and two counts of contravening a protection order.

He requested his case be transferred to Porirua upon the guilty pleas.

The sentencing was scheduled for May 22, with a pre-sentence report and restorative justice called for.

Lawyer dismissed

Vallen Swanson has fired his legal aid lawyer after disagreements over how to handle his case.

Swanson pleaded not guilty to theft, possession of an offensive weapon, being unlawfully in an enclosed yard and two counts of threatening to kill.

He told the judge via audio-visual link that he wanted to “sack” his lawyer and represent himself.

Swanson was remanded in custody for a case review hearing in June.

Prison sentence for two incidents

Kawerau man Michael Webby has been sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment for a range of drug, weapon and driving charges.

He pleaded guilty to failing to stop for police, refusing an officer’s request for a blood sample, two counts of driving while disqualified, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a meth pipe and possession of an offensive weapon.

They were laid from two separate incidents, one on February 3 and the other on March 5. The court heard Webby had been in custody since his second arrest.

He was supported in court by his partner and their young child.

Webby was granted leave to apply for home detention at a residential rehabilitation facility and will be subject to six months of release conditions.

He was disqualified from driving for three years and then will be indefinitely disqualified.

The judge ordered that the weapons – a tomahawk, knife and chisel – be destroyed.

Further remand for case review

Adam Richmond has been remanded in custody until June to give his lawyer and police prosecutors a full six weeks to have case review discussions.

Richmond has been charged with supplying methamphetamine, possession of utensils for methamphetamine, possession of a knife in a public place, possession of methamphetamine, speaking threateningly and two counts of contravening a protection order.

Defence lawyer Rebekah Webby said she had struggled to contact Richmond because he was in prison on remand.

Bail granted

Rūātoki woman Phaeton Taumata has been admitted to bail with a 24-hour curfew after having new shoplifting charges laid against her.

Taumata faces six shoplifting charges representing various values and has been accused of breaching both her community work and bail.

She has not entered pleas yet and will be expected to do so in two weeks at her next appearance.

Adjournment for lawyer discussions

Christian Te Pou’s hearing this week was adjourned to the end of the month to allow his lawyer to discuss his charges with him.

Lawyer Paul Devoy told the judge that Te Pou faced charges that he did not know about, and he had been unable to contact the defendant in prison.

Te Pou is charged with escaping police custody, threatening language, burglary, theft from a dwelling, possession of a knife in a public place, threatening to kill and three counts of breaching release conditions.

He was the third defendant on Wednesday to have their case delayed by communications problems with the prisons. Judge Mason said if the prison was not going to let lawyers contact their clients for instructions, then maybe defendants needed to appear in court in person.

Te Pou was given the option to appear in person at his next hearing, but it would mean he would have to wait an extra week, so he chose to appear by audio-visual link again.

Bail application withdrawn

Turie Allen did not pursue an electronic bail application this week because of the lack of signal at his proposed address.

Allen has denied a charge of strangulation/suffocation and has a judge alone trial scheduled on June 10.

Supervision sentence

Whakatāne man Rainus Baker has been sentenced to six months’ supervision for trespass and assault.

Baker, 52, pleaded guilty to both charges this week.

Defence lawyer Alexandra Darwick said Baker had a limited history of offending, was apologetic, and expressed regret.

She submitted that community work and supervision would be suitable, but both the prosecutor and the judge doubted that he would comply with a community work order.

Mixed pleas

Kawerau man Whiri Rakei was readmitted to bail after being arrested on a warrant.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while disqualified but denied driving dangerously and speaking threateningly.

Rakei was remanded to June 11 for a case review hearing.

Charge amended

Police have amended a charge of assault with a blunt instrument laid against Dereena Peri to driving dangerously.

Peri pleaded guilty to the amended charge.

She was remanded for sentencing in two weeks.

Driver sentenced from Australia

An Australian defendant has received a trans-Tasman sentence for refusing an officer’s request for a blood sample while he was in New Zealand on holiday in January.

Lawyer Rebecca Plunket submitted that a fine would be a sufficient penalty for the defendant, who appeared by audio-visual link from Australia.

She said Bevan Macpherson had not appeared in court at all for the last 25 years. The court heard Macpherson’s last driving offence was in 1992.

Judge Mason fined the defendant $500 and disqualified him for the mandatory period of a year and a day.

Community detention imposed

Jamie Sullivan has been sentenced to six months’ community detention for breaching a community work order, and having fines remitted.

Judge Mason remitted more than $8800 in fines.

Sullivan will be subject to an overnight curfew starting April 16, due to his child requiring hospital-level care.

Cannabis possession admitted

Lawson Maui has admitted charges of possession of cannabis plant for supply and selling cannabis.

He was remanded on bail to June for sentencing. Judge Mason ordered that a pre-sentence report be prepared.

Case adjourned

A combined case review, sentencing and plea hearing scheduled this week for Summer Rehu has been adjourned to June.

Rehu has been charged with possession of cannabis, breaching bail, breaching community work, possession of methamphetamine, common assault, obstructing police, speaking threateningly, wilful damage, resisting police and possessing utensils for meth.

Lawyer Steve Franklin requested a brief adjournment to complete the case management process.

He also sought that Rehu be readmitted to bail, after was arrested in the courthouse foyer on Wednesday morning for an alleged breach of bail.

She was readmitted to bail for another hearing on June 11.