Home detention for assault

Toatoa woman Tui Maxwell-Hayes has been sentenced to home detention for a raft of charges including an assault which saw one person punched and a chair thrown at another.

Maxwell-Hayes, 27, pleaded guilty in Ōpōtiki District Court last Thursday to shoplifting, wilful damage and escaping police custody.

She had previously admitted assault with intent to injure, common assault, assault with a blunt instrument, carrying an imitation firearm, careless driving and possession of a pipe for cannabis.

The court heard Maxwell-Hayes failed to appear at an earlier scheduled sentencing hearing. Defence lawyer Nickie Franklin said the defendant had Covid at the time.

In sentencing Maxwell-Hayes, Judge Louis Bidois treated the assault with intent to injure as the lead charge.

He said the victim was attacked by two people – Maxwell-Hayes and a co-offender – and a person who intervened was punched. A chair was thrown at one of the victims and a slug gun was retrieved from a car by Maxwell-Hayes.

Judge Bidois said the offending was deserving of a prison sentence, though he was previously minded to impose a community-based one. Then, he said, she re-offended.

Her co-offender was sentenced to prison with leave to apply for home detention.

Maxwell-Hayes was sentenced to three months’ home detention, followed by six months of post-detention conditions.

She was ordered to pay $100 reparation for the shoplifting charge.

Maxwell-Hayes was remanded on bail until next month for a case review hearing on denied charges of breaching bail, failing to stop for police, theft, reckless driving, burglary and a second charge of shoplifting.

Bottle smashed over pregnant woman’s head

Kelly Green has admitted three violence charges relating to an altercation which saw a glass bottle smashed over a heavily pregnant woman’s head.

Green pleaded guilty to assault with intent to injure, common assault and assault with a blunt instrument.

Defence lawyer Leonard Hemi said the police summary of facts was largely accepted, but there were some issues.

He said one of the victims was provoking the defendant, including by throwing bottles at his address in an attempt to get at Green’s friend.

The court heard that Green had a mental health history. Mr Hemi offered that Green would make an emotional harm payment and submitted supervision as an appropriate sentence.

He said there did not need to be a punitive element to the sentence and the defendant’s mental health needed to be managed.

Judge Bidois said Green had a history of violence.

“We can’t just slap him on the hand and excuse him because he’s got mental health issues.”

The judge also acknowledged Green’s decision to face the charges rather than seeking mental health reports.

He ordered a pre-sentencing report with home detention and community detention appendices. Restorative justice was also ordered.

Green was remanded on bail to September 18 for sentencing.

Charges denied, bail granted

Cassandra Anderson has been released from police custody on bail pending a case review hearing on multiple charges she denies.

Anderson appeared via audio-visual link in court last week charged with two counts of threatening to kill, escaping police custody, breaching bail, assault with a blunt instrument and possession of an offensive weapon.

She pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Judge Bidois granted bail to an address outside the Bay of Plenty, with a condition not to enter Ōpōtiki except to attend court, among other conditions.

Anderson was remanded to reappear in July.

Sentencing scheduled

Waiotahe man Aaron Riesterer has been granted bail to a residential treatment facility ahead of a sentencing hearing next month.

Riesterer is due to be sentenced on July 24 for three assault charges, depending on his progress at the treatment facility.

Mixed pleas

Raiden Welsh has been remanded in custody to next week for a combined plea and case review hearing.

Last week, Welsh denied charges of assault on a person in a family relationship and contravening a protection order. He pleaded guilty to wilful damage and was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment.

No pleas were entered to charges of breaching supervision and community work.

Police opposed an application for bail, which was then declined by the judge.

Welsh is expected to make an application for electronically monitored bail at a future hearing.

One trial scheduled

Waiotahe woman Melanie Hargreaves has had a trial date set in November for intentional damage, relating to allegations involving a Bay of Plenty Regional Council employee’s notebook.

Hargreaves has also denied a separate charge of criminal harassment, which will go to trial when time can be found in the court schedule.

A nominal hearing date was scheduled next month for the court registry to attempt, again, to schedule the trial.

Chronic alcoholic in sticky spot

Steven Taylor has admitted his fifth drink driving offence since 2006, but his chronic alcoholism has made it difficult for the judge to find an appropriate sentence.

Taylor pleaded guilty last week to driving with a breath alcohol level of 1194 micrograms per litre of breath. The legal limit is 250mcg.

Defence lawyer Steve Franklin said the defendant was a chronic alcoholic who had attempted to deal with the issue himself by having an aftermarket interlock device fitted in his vehicle.

But when he was unable to continue paying for it, and was therefore able to drive unrestricted, he re-offended.

The judge heard Taylor had tried rehabilitation, but it had not worked.

“The reality is, he needs to not drive,” Mr Franklin said.

“He has tried literally everything he can. He can’t stop.”

Mr Franklin said if the defendant was sentenced to home detention, he would breach the standard condition not to drink alcohol.

He said that as a fit, and otherwise healthy former farmer, Taylor had previously been successful in completing a sentence of community work, but he would only be able to do it in the morning.

An in-court, a probation representative confirmed that if Taylor showed up to community work under the influence or smelling of alcohol, he would be turned away.

Judge Bidois remanded Taylor on bail to August 21 for sentencing on a condition not to drive.

Quarter of a stubby tips scales

Kawerau man Wayne Wineti has been fined $1000 for driving with a breath alcohol level of 706 micrograms.

The court heard that Wineti drank one quarter of a stubby of beer the day he was breath tested, but that his high alcohol level came from the night before, when he had been drinking with family.

He had one relevant recent previous conviction, with any others dating to before 2000.

Judge Bidois sentenced Wineti to pay a fine, rather than community work, because the defendant has health issues that prevent him from working.

Wineti was also disqualified from driving for 28 days. He will then be subject to an alcohol interlock licence.

No reoffending “saving grace”

Thomas Taiapa has avoided a prison sentence on driving charges by not reoffending since late 2023.

Taiapa appeared for sentencing on charges of driving with excess breath alcohol and driving while disqualified, after having his case transferred from Hamilton District Court.

The court heard that three pre-sentence reports were prepared, recommending community detention before escalating to imprisonment.

This was Taiapa’s sixth conviction for drink driving and he had been sentenced to home detention on two occasions.

Judge Bidois said there was a need for a step-up in punishment, but defence lawyer Lisa Ebbers urged him to step back from imprisonment.

“I don’t know that prison is going to help him,” she said.

“He’s going to come out without having changed, with no support or rehabilitation.”

Judge Bidois said the only mitigating factor he could identify was that Taiapa pleaded guilty.

He said there was a significant delay in sentencing because of Taiapa relocating, but his “saving grace” was that he had not reoffended since he was caught with a breath alcohol level of 770mcg on December 9, 2023.

Taiapa was sentenced to five months’ home detention and was disqualified from driving for six months.

Jury trial on drug charge

A woman charged with supplying methamphetamine and unlawfully possessing a firearm has confirmed her intention to fight the charges at a jury trial.

Vikki Helmbright was remanded to September for jury callover.

Indefinite disqualification

Nelson Helmbright has been indefinitely disqualified from driving after receiving his third drink driving-related conviction within five years.

Helmbright pleaded guilty last week to driving contrary to the conditions of his zero-alcohol licence.

The judge said this was only Helmbright’s third conviction, and they were all related to drink driving.

“You are otherwise a good person.”

Helmbright was sentenced to 140 hours’ community work and was indefinitely disqualified from driving.

Trial date set

A judge alone trial date has been set for Makau Herewini on charges of assault on a person in a family relationship and contravening a protection order.

Lawyer Leonard Hemi estimated two hours would be required for the case to be heard.

The trial was scheduled to occur on November 13.

On a second charge of contravening a protection order, which Herewini admitted, he was fined $450 and ordered to pay an additional $300 in emotional harm reparation.

Further case review required

Ōpōtiki man Mark Carnell has been remanded to a further case review hearing to allow time for him to discuss his case with his lawyer.

Carnell has denied a charge of assault with intent to injure.

He was remanded on bail to August.

Charge withdrawn

A charge of theft from a car laid against Deontaye Puha-Stewart has been withdrawn by police.

Judge Bidois then dismissed a related charge of breaching bail. Prior to the charges being laid, Puha-Stewart had no convictions.

Second adjournment

A woman  facing two charges of driving under the influence of drugs, causing death and injury, has been remanded for a further eight weeks, pending an expert report commissioned by the defence.

Frances Paget was remanded on bail to reappear on August 7.

Judge Bidois acknowledged the victim’s family, who were present in court, and offered them his condolences.

Fine for home D breaches

Two breaches of home detention have resulted in Shannon Stevens being fined $800.

Stevens pleaded guilty to both charges. Her home detention ended on March 30.

Judge Bidois said the sentence would normally be either prison or more home detention, but given Stevens had already finished the sentence, he fined her $400 plus costs on each charge.

New address to be checked

The sentencing scheduled for Steven Merkofer on cannabis and firearm charges has been adjourned to September, allowing time for probation to check a new potential home detention address.

Merkofer was due to be sentenced for unlawful possession of a firearm and cultivation of cannabis.

The judge heard Merkofer’s assessed Toatoa home detention address had mobile coverage through One NZ’s satellite service, but an in-court probation representative said the service was for texts only and did not work with their electronic monitoring units.

Judge Bidois adjourned the sentencing to September 18 and ordered that a new home detention appendix be completed for a different address in Ōhope.