Man used machete to rob stranger of cigarettes

Hamilton man Jeffrey Darnell Holland has been jailed for more than two years after he held a machete to the cheek of a stranger in a roadside robbery.

Holland, 41, pulled alongside the victim on the side of the road in Hamilton on May 9, held the weapon to his cheek and robbed him of a packet of cigarettes.

The defendant threw the victim to the ground and punched him in the head, Judge Louis Bidois said.

The victim suffered lacerations to his cheek and wrist, and he required surgery.

On the same day but in separate offending, Holland assaulted a victim using a car as a weapon and demanded to steal another victim’s car with menace.

Three days prior, he committed a petrol drive off from a BP petrol station in Hamilton.

Holland was charged with aggravated robbery, assault with a blunt instrument, other demands to steal and theft for the offending, which were prosecuted by the Crown.

He was sentenced in Whakatāne District Court on Wednesday.

Lawyer Steve Franklin said Holland acknowledged his wrongdoing throughout the court process and had displayed remorse by writing letters of apology and being willing to attend restorative justice.

Holland knew it was unlikely that he would be released from prison any time soon, but the lawyer said that he had the opportunity to engage in church-based residential rehabilitation upon release.

Mr Franklin said Holland wanted to address his issues before being released to his whānau.

Judge Bidois said Holland’s offending was linked to his methamphetamine addiction, and a pre-sentencing report assessed his risk of re-offending as medium.

He described the aggravated robbery as involving gratuitous violence, and the overall offending as a drug-fuelled spree with no planning.

“It doesn’t matter that it was only minor property taken, because if he had $500, you would have taken that,” the judge said.

The victim of that offending had suffered uncontrollable shaking since the incident, according to a victim impact statement referenced in court.

Another victim said they had never been so terrified in their life, and the third victim said she thought she was going to die. She worried she was going to be attacked when Holland approached her, and her vehicle was damaged.

Holland told report writers that he wanted to be a better father to his child and a better partner to his girlfriend.

He was sentenced to a 28-month prison term, which included discounts for mitigating factors, addiction and remorse.

Holland was willing to pay reparations, which were ordered to the tune of $35 for the cigarettes and $150 for the petrol.

He must also pay $250 in emotional harm reparations to the victims. An order was made for destruction of the machete.

Trial date rescheduled

A trial that was meant to be held in Ōpōtiki last week has been rescheduled to November.

Caine Punakai denies charges of strangulation and assault with intent to injure.

He has been remanded in custody because of not having an available bail address, and lawyer Lisa Ebbers sought the earliest possible judge alone trial date.

Judge Bidois said the court would try to bring the trial forward if an earlier date becomes available.

The trial scheduled for last week was cancelled because of judge unavailability.

Pipes belonged to someone else – defendant

A Kawerau man caught with methamphetamine pipes on two different occasions says both times, he had taken them from other people.

Tawhio Pita Ngaheu was sentenced for two counts of possession of meth pipes and one of possession of methamphetamine.

The court heard that on May 28, Ngaheu was found with two pipes during a traffic stop. He said he had taken them from some kids.

A month later, meth and a pipe were found on him at a pub. On that occasion, he said he took them from someone else.

Lawyer Rebecca Plunkett said the defendant now had a job in the bush and was coming off the meth, saying that he hadn’t smoked in two months.

Judge Bidois fined Ngaheu $700 for the offending.

Charges “strongly denied”

Waiohau woman Sharon Ranui has “strongly denied” a raft of charges alleging violence, including against children.

She was remanded on bail to appear for a case review hearing this month.

Drink driver sentenced

Kawerau man Lees Ransfield has been sentenced to three months’ home detention for two separate incidents, both involving drink driving.

Judge Bidois said on February 9, 45-year-old Ransfield was drinking with some friends and tried to leave, but they refused to give him his car keys.

Ransfield became angry, threatened people and got his keys. When in his vehicle, he drove forward and hit a gate with a victim standing behind it, running over their foot.

The victim spent four days in the hospital, was on crutches for two weeks and their work was affected.

The victim was taken to hospital as a result. Ransfield had a breath alcohol level of 992 micrograms per litre of breath. The legal driving limit is 250 micrograms.

He was charged with careless driving causing injury and driving with excess breath alcohol.

Three months later, he was texting with the subject of a protection order.

He became angry, drove to the victim’s address, and rammed into her fence and vehicle.

She suffered financial and emotional loss as a result.

Ransfield was on bail at the time and had a breath alcohol reading of 761 micrograms.

He was charged with breaching a protection order, driving with excess breath alcohol and two counts of wilful damage.

Prior to sentencing, lawyer Lisa Ebbers said police would have withdrawn the charge relating to the protection order, if the order had been discharged by the Family Court.

She said there was confusion over the protection order prior to the offending because Ransfield had been served with a document saying the victim wanted it discharged, but he did not realise he needed to reply to the Family Court consenting to it.

Since Ransfield’s offending, the victim decided she wanted the protection order to stand.

The court heard Ransfield had engaged with the Eastern Bay Primary Health Alliance and Tūhoe Hauora for support.

His lawyer said a recommended sentence of intensive supervision and community detention would support the work he was already doing.

She said it was a difficult time in his life, and he was trying to put things right.

The judge said a prison sentence was justified.

Ransfield was sentenced to three months’ home detention, converted from a six-month prison sentence.

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

Reparations totally $900 were ordered for the car and fence, and $500 emotional harm reparations for the injured victim.

Bail on same terms

The judge declined to remove a curfew condition of Arthur Toman’s bail after it was breached this week.

Toman appeared in court from custody after he was arrested for not being at home 12 minutes after his curfew started.

He is currently before the courts on charges of robbery and threatening behaviour, which he has denied.

Toman was readmitted to bail on the same terms to reappear before the court this month.

Singapore-bound

Jordan Coake is bound for Singapore after having his post-detention conditions cancelled.

The conditions came into effect after Coake completed a sentence for charges of assault on a person in a family relationship, threatening to kil and impeding breathing.

Corrections were neutral on the application.

Bad attitude ends in handcuffs

Kawerau man Te Manuka Karepa has been fined $300 for a charge of resisting police.

The court heard that Karepa was a passenger in a car that failed to stop for police, and it was primarily his attitude towards police that resulted in the charge.

He was keen to deal with the charge at his first appearance so he could be released from police custody ahead of an unrelated hearing in Wellington today.

Lawyer withdraws

Simon Ranui will need a new lawyer after his was granted leave to withdraw this week.

He appeared for a case review hearing on Wednesday for charges of neglecting a child and two counts of assaults child.

He was remanded to appear before the court again in two weeks, on the same day as his co-offender.

Short home D sentence

Ōpōtiki man Mack Te Ua was sentenced to a month-and-a-half of home detention this week for several charges.

The charges consisted of two counts of assault with intent to injure, common assault, behaving threateningly, wilful damage, assaults police, escaping police custody and intentional damage.

One of the victims needed a stitch to hold their lip together. Another was kicked and punched as Te Ua tried to take his property.

The court heard that Te Ua accepted he needed help for his anger.

Judge Bidois said the defendant was deported from Australia and this was a continuation of violent offending behaviour.

The sentence started at 18 months’ prison and was reduced to three months to account for mitigating factors time spent in custody on remand and time on electronically monitored bail. It was then halved for the final home detention sentence.

Te Ua will be subject to six months of post-detention conditions.

He must pay $1040 in reparations for damage he caused and $300 in emotional harm reparation to the assault victims.

Licence retained

Dereena Peri has been allowed to keep her licence under a section of the Land Transport Act that permits judges to impose a community-based sentence in lieu of disqualification.

The application was granted by Judge Bidois after Peri – for sentence on a charge of dangerous driving – completed a defensive driving course.

She was fined $400 and ordered to complete 100 hours’ community work.

Suspended sentence

Te Hurahanga Cooper has been ordered to come up if called upon for six months after he completed his outstanding community work.

The sentence was for charges of breaching post detention conditions and breaching community work.

Trial scheduled

Kawerau man Quaid Kaata pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault on a person in a family relationship.

He was remanded on bail to December for a trial on the charge and another of strangulation.