Ric Stevens is a Multimedia Journalist specialising in Open Justice reporting at Hawke's Bay Today.
I have worked in journalism for about 40 years, including as a political reporter at Parliament and in senior roles at a number of daily newspapers. In the course of my career I have met 10 prime ministers and covered topics as diverse as riots, earthquakes and murder trials, among many other things. I stepped aside from daily journalism for a while in 2016 to complete a master's degree and then found myself working for four years on the front line of the criminal justice system, as a probation officer. This has helped inform my current reporting on crime and justice. I was delighted to be able to come back to journalism as a member of NZME's Open Justice team in 2022.
Two axehead-shaped holes in front doors of courthouse, hearings delayed
Jurors and lawyers waited outside while broken glass was cleared away.
Man who 'foiled' ankle monitoring bracelet objects to being jailed
Matthew James Vernall says the judge was wrong to refuse a home-based sentence.
Callous, uncaring man 'became criminal' during sex with young woman
Woman did not know two men who picked her up and took her to a motel.
Comancheros-linked mother wins reprieve from deportation
Deportation liability notice 'almost certain' if discharge without conviction refused.
'Money mule': Security guard who worked in loss prevention involved in scam
He acted as a middleman for a financial scammer and now has to repay $10k.
Man has 100+ shoplifting convictions, but doesn't think he should be in jail
Lukin Hamlin stole hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars worth of goods in one go.
Jehovah’s Witnesses fail in latest bid to be excluded from abuse inquiry
The commission is now due to make its final report by June 26.
Unjustified: Girl, 13, bitten by police dog after dangerously driving stolen vehicle
The young teen was one of seven in a stolen vehicle and believed to fleeing.
Mother ‘totally shattered’ after son beaten to death by Mongrel Mob associates
Police thank people who provided information as gang associates are sent to jail.
How one victim tracked down a burglar on a crime spree
A set of keys with a GPS fob attached was one of the items Layna Brown stole.
Hastings council fined after 200 cubic metres of wastewater spills onto highway
Court told Hastings council has had 25 other breaches since 2019.
How a fraudster broke into bank accounts with simple mobile phone ploy
Casey Smith stole $50,000 after getting a new SIM card for the victim’s phone number.
Motorcyclist dies after unlicensed driver runs him over, then flees
Family's lives 'achingly quiet' after loved one's death, daughter tells court.
Meth offender claims $31k seized cash was from selling 5205 pipes - police say yeah right
Cops calculated former Mob boss would have had to have made more than 5000 pipes.
'Shell of a person': Woman left with brain injury and in lifelong care after partner beat her
The woman was found unconscious on a soiled mattress; abuser's appeal dismissed.
Lying nurse told schizophrenic patient her children were his
They met when she was assigned to care for him in a mental health clinic.
Man who slapped wife in argument over rice fights to return to NZ after 427 days jail
The man's conviction was quashed, now he's trying to return from India to see his child.
Man skipped bail for alleged drug-dealing in Mongolia, allowed to stay in NZ
If he returned to Mongolia there was a likelihood he would be tortured.
'Put down': Violent inmate stomps on duck after it landed in prison yard
The prisoner was charged with attacking the bird, which had to be put down.
Slain Mob boss had $230k in car when police busted meth-dealing ring
Daniel Eliu was shot dead outside a South Auckland church.
Girl foils sex offender by using his phone to save evidence and summon help
Stephen Wayne Beattie hid phone in girl's bedroom to make videos of her.
Guitar tutor gives girl, 7, a phone loaded with porn images
Logan Paul Hugo also groomed a 14-year-old online and then went to have sex with her.
Man makes an obscenity-laden TikTok about victims after being released from prison
Stephen Elliot was originally jailed for assaulting them in a Salvation Army store.
'Gang overtones': Terrified occupants saw taser sparking in the dark as trio tried to break in
One of the victims has moved away, still fearful of the Black Power associates.
Teen shooting: Victim loses an eye but gunman's driver unhappy because he can't get a job now
Scaffolder Nashyn Williams had to resign after being convicted for his role in the crime.
'Our little secret': Teen cried and hugged her puppy during rape
Her rapist tried to appeal his convictions after being sent to prison for 10 years.
St John failed in care of heart attack patient after 111 call
His GP told him to call an ambulance urgently and not drive himself to hospital.
Some weeks their pay packets were empty - now they've triggered a court case over low pay
RSE pay deduction issues are likely to 'resonate' throughout NZ, lawyer tells court.
Man accused of murder of Javon Aranui named
Name suppression continues for a second man charged with murder.
Drug dealer found with $91k of meth, $14,500 cash three months after prison release
Police monitored meth dealer's phone calls and texts for a month before raiding house.
Former Napier mortgage broker sentenced for falsifying loan applications
Natalie Ann Carter applied for seven loans totaling nearly $3 million.
Meth dealer to lose his 'forever car' - a modified Holden that contained father's ashes
It was the sort of car he always wanted to own, his partner told the court.
Man choked woman unconscious, but believed his jail term was too long
The High Court rejected the appeal - the release date will be set by the Parole Board.
'Catastrophic': Banned driver sped from cops before crashing into photographers
The forbidden driver who had earlier sped away from police faced several charges.
Released rapist and killer still 'high risk' after serving all of 20-year jail term
Basil Mist offended against five girls aged 7 to 15 and killed his girlfriend.
Man settles down, starts a family, then finds out Australia wants to extradite him
The man had travelled to and from Australia several times without challenge.
Cyber-criminals make blackmail threat after hacking car software company database
'Credible threat' that some of the information will be posted on the dark web.
Violent sexual offender deemed a danger 'for years to come', gets open-ended jail term
His offending against a previous victim's brother came to light years later.
Packed public gallery supports two charged with Javon Aranui's murder
Judge grants interim name suppression to protect the two men’s fair trial rights.
Bling seized: Gang member loses his ute, fancy watch and $12,500 diamond ring
Dylan Stuart has served jail time for dealing methamphetamine and firearms offending.
Man says drugs were for own use - his safe password suggested otherwise
Drug seller claims money was from orchard work, building and pokies.
Appeal denied for killer who climbed in bed between dead flatmate and sleeping girlfriend
Jianxin Tu has been denied a final appeal against his sentence of life in prison.
Prosecution of property developer pointless, judge says
Charges against Dave Henderson described as "waste of taxpayers' money" by judge.
Miscarriage of justice: Boy, 15, spent nearly a year in adult prison
Mistake deemed a miscarriage of justice in first Criminal Cases Review Commission result.
Kmart robber was asked for receipt - so he pulled out a knife
“Do you want me to use this on you?” Satwinder Singh asked the employee.
'Feared for his life': Gang member robbed man after being out of jail for just a week
Hagen Henare had earlier been involved in kidnapping a woman for a gang boss.
Truck driver who refused Covid jab gets $29k for wrongful dismissal
Wayne Basher spent most of his working time alone in his cab.
Two teens charged with taking man's car and ram-raiding dairy
Teenage pair charged jointly with aggravated robbery, burglary and wilful damage.
'Monster' rapist and abuser asks victim to forgive him
Teina Toru's victim: 'You took advantage of my vulnerability to satisfy your sick needs".
'Spiritual' feeling of relief after disgraced former MP quits disputed property after 37 years
Property vacated after protracted battle in the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Man on $100k meth shopping spree used child's sickness to dodge Covid checkpoints
Little did he know, police had placed a listening device in one of his associate's homes.
Beneficiary busted with $16,500 - police seize cash under crime-proceeds law
John Te Aho, who has drug-dealing history, made 85 bank deposits totalling $117,000.
Woman owes $40k after claiming she was a single mum
The gambling addict stole money, lost her job and now has to repay $40k in tax credits.
'Miscarriage of justice:' Police tainted suspect identification process
Police 'undermined' safety of man's convictions. Now the case is going back to court.
Stevedore sacked over bosses' doubts about drug test
But the worker denies he's to blame for the invalid test and is fighting to be reinstated.
Mob associate laughed during fatal attack on Hawke's Bay teacher
Keontay Chadwick pleads guilty to Darcy Strickland's manslaughter.
'Cruel' rapist who targeted sex workers jailed for 10 years
Corey Murfitt silenced one victim by pushing her underwear into her mouth.
Man who went down child exploitation 'rabbit hole' has prison sentence quashed
A judge said prison will set back his rehabilitation and he should be on home detention.
Gang leader with 84 convictions hands over $300,000 of ill-gotten gains
Police had sought $1.6 million which they estimated Pink netted through gang life.
Eight charged in crackdown on pokie machine 'corruption'
The offending gives the gambling sector a bad name, says Internal Affairs.
Mob leader to stay in jail after loaded gun found in car during gang tensions
He says he took the gun off someone else because he was 'concerned about public safety'.
Teen sportsman's 'horrific' accident: Meat works fails to overturn $280k fine and conviction
Workplace accident ended young man's dream of playing sport overseas.
The Mob captain, the gambler and the prison ring controlled by a phone hidden in a toilet
More than 300 texts and 450 calls were made to smuggle drugs into prison.
'If you scream, I will stab you': Kidnapper threatened girls with screwdriver
The girls were not physically hurt but were emotionally traumatised after escaping.
What kids who commit serious crimes have in common
Haami Hanara, who was neglected and abused, knifed a man to death when he was 14.
Why is Generation Z less likely to end up behind bars?
Despite youth crime fears, the stats tell a very different story within a generation.
True crime podcast: No justice for victim 90 years after love-triangle killing
Murdered man had two great loves in the last year of his life, and neither was his wife.
Real estate agent wins court dispute over commission on $6.6m sale
Station was sold between brothers' trusts in a "family arrangement".
Female prison officer who suffered broken arm in attack to prosecute Corrections
Sharon Irwin's arm was broken in two places by the maximum security inmate.
Man's legal action against ex-wife an 'abuse of process', judge rules
Ex-husband filed 88 applications in court against wife. He must now pay $100,000-plus.
Brothers sentenced after attacking mum's murderer in court
The teenage twin brothers had never been in trouble with the courts before.
Five-year-old boy in hospital for a month after being struck by forklift in orchard
The company was fined $7000 over the incident, in which a 14-year-old was driving.
'OG' Head Hunter's son forfeits almost $90k, including $20k found in his undies
The High Court ruled the money was "tainted property" obtained by criminal means.
Drug importer who surrendered to authorities gets sentence reduced
High Court judge gives Aiyaz Umarji credit for returning to NZ to face justice.
Refugee abused as a boy in camps grew up to become a rapist in NZ
He spent four years in refugee camps as a young child.
Drunk, drugged driver fails in appeal after clocking 150km/h before injuring woman in crash
Winiata was jailed after the crash but appealed his sentence, claiming it was too harsh.
Babysitter filmed naked child, kept 2500 photos
Man took 18 videos of underage girl and used them to generate 2500 still images.