District Court news

Gisborne Courthouse

WILLIAM Terrence Carrington, 63, breached a protection order for the first time since the order was made in 1993.

Carrington pleaded guilty in Gisborne District Court and was ordered to do 90 hours community work.

Judge Warren Cathcart said he wholly rejected counsel Manaaki Terekia’s submission that the offending could be dealt with by a conviction and discharge alone.

It was too serious the judge said.

The charge was a representative one — indicative of several breaches between September 6 and 12 last year.

The court must deal with breaches of protection orders sternly, the judge said.

Carrington did not have a clean record of past dealings in relation to the complainant but he accepted the order was longstanding and this breach occurred last year.

Carrington went to his ex-partner’s house (their former shared home) and engaged in psychological abuse. He threatened to “waste” the woman and her new partner if he turned up there, the court heard.

The woman called police, prompting Carrington to leave.

A few days later the woman’s new partner stayed overnight. Carrington left a letter on the man’s vehicle, which was parked in the driveway.

Carrington addressed the man by name and demanded he pay $650 per night for staying. He also demanded the man phone him.

Mr Terekia said the offending occurred at the end of Carrington’s 27-year relationship with the complainant. There was no actual physical violence.

The pair had since attended a restorative justice meeting. They had moved on and begun new relationships. Any further similar offending by Carrington was unlikely, Mr Terekia said.

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Diversion or a discharge without conviction would be inappropriate in a case involving serious domestic violence that included an act of strangulation, Judge Cathcart told a man appearing before him.

Lakhmi Chand Jatav, 40, pleaded guilty to two charges of assault (Crimes Act). He was convicted and remanded on bail for referral to the restorative justice process and sentence on May 3.

Judge Cathcart said he was surprised police would even consider diversion in this case. Given the facts, It was unlikely any judge would ever grant an application for a discharge without conviction. One of the incidents included Jatav using both hands to strangle the woman, he said.

Counsel Bryony Shackell conceded Jatav should abandon his intention to apply to avoid conviction. She noted the convictions were Jatav’s first.

Ms Shackell said the complainant reported the matters 12 months after they occurred and there was no triggering violent incident that prompted her to do so.

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Shawn Jacci Mcgregor, 28, pleaded guilty to two charges of assault, one reduced from a charge of assaulting a female, and a charge of wilful damage (a van window).

He was convicted and ordered to make reparation of $300 for emotional harm to each of the two complainants of the assaults.

For damage to the van, he was convicted and discharged. Police had not received details of reparation.

Counsel Melanie Tarsau said community work, which might also have been imposed, would affect McGregor’s ability to work at his six-day- a-week job and his ability to make reparation.

The offences occurred when McGregor, accompanied by his father, went to his former partner’s house to collect belongings within a week of moving out. He was unable to cope with a situation that confronted him there. He was now remorseful.

Judge Cathcart accepted the violence was at the lower end of the scale. McGregor punched a male and threw a female to the ground as she ran from the house.

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Joanne Brown, 27, pleaded guilty to driving dangerously and wilful damage (a fence). She pleaded not guilty to assault with a blunt instrument, a baseball bat.

All matters will be called again on April 26 when a case review hearing will be held on the charge she wishes to defend.

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The court was left with no alternative but to place an ACC beneficiary on supervision on a charge of threatening behaviour.

Adam James Masemann, 33, was unsuitable for any other appropriate sentence. As an ACC beneficiary, the probation service could not place him on community work.

He already owed $1500 in outstanding fines, so a monetary penalty was also inappropriate, Judge Cathcart said.

Masemann pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening manner and breaching bail. He was sentenced to six months supervision, to include counselling for alcohol and other drugs.

Counsel William Zhang said Masemann accepted he had a problem with alcohol, which had escalated a dispute with the complainant in the assault charge.

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Sam Kirikiri, 23, pleaded guilty to assault, admitting he punched a woman in the arm. He was ordered to come up for sentence in six months if called upon.

The judge noted medical circumstances precluded Kirikiri from community work, which might otherwise have been imposed.

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Two punches were enough for one nightclub patron to land another in hospital.

Rawiri aka David Bishop, 22, field worker, admitted assault and was ordered to do 120 hours community work.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while disqualified, for which he was further disqualified for six months.

Counsel Leighvi Maynard said Bishop and the other man argued inside the venue. The altercation moved outside at the complainant’s suggestion.

Bishop’s behaviour was out of character and he accepted it was “way over the top”.

This was the first time Bishop had committed violence outside of a domestic setting — he had a conviction for assaulting a female.

But Judge Cathcart noted Bishop had been jailed for disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence and dangerous driving.

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Chester Martin Matete, 43, admitted breaching a protection order and breaching supervision. He was remanded on bail for a report and sentence on May 3.

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For breaching court release conditions, which he admitted, Shane Dave Pomana was convicted and ordered to come up if called upon within six months.

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Rowan Tuauau Aupouri, shearer, pleaded guilty to breaching release conditions by failing to report to probation on one occasion. He was sentenced to 80 hours community work.

The judge noted it was Aupouri’s fourth such conviction. A stronger sentence could have been imposed, the judge said. But he did not want to disrupt Aupouri’s full-time work.

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An intoxicated driver who crashed into a palm tree in the middle of the Roebuck Road roundabout last year had now lost his previously clean record, his lawyer said.

Sidney Robert Wallace, 38, pleaded guilty to careless driving and driving with excess blood-alcohol (267mg).

He also admitted a later offence of driving while disqualified that occurred while he was on bail for the earlier charges.

Counsel Mark Sceats said the pending convictions had caused Wallace to abandon a line of employment he was about to pursue.

Judge Cathcart agreed fines would suffice. He imposed various amounts for each offence, along with court fees and medical and analyst fees for the blood test, totalling about $1400.

The judge noted the impact of the crash with the palm tree was so severe that both airbags in Wallace’s car were deployed.

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Admitting she breached the conditions of her zero-alcohol licence by driving with excess breath-alcohol (491mcg), Ariana Tiaki Peneha, 27, mother, was sentenced to 100 hours community work and disqualified for 12 months. The zero-alcohol licence will extend by three years.

It was a third drink-drive offence for Peneha.

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Te Urunga O Te Ra Tuhaka, 81, admitted he drove while intoxicated twice in two days.

They were his third and fourth such offences. On November 4, he returned a breath-alcohol reading of 590mcg. Two days later he returned a reading of 777mcg.

Tuhaka was remanded on bail for report and sentence on May 3.

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Maria Leeanne Rua, 43, pleaded guilty to driving with excess breath-alcohol (991mcg) for the third or subsequent time, her sixth. She was remanded on bail for a report and sentence on March 15. The report will canvass all sentencing options.

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Johnie Boy Huriwai, 49, forest worker, admitted driving with excess breath-alcohol (539mcg), his fifth over a 25-year period. He also pleaded guilty to driving unlicensed. He was remanded on bail for a report and sentence on May 3.

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Mathew Phillip Neho, 25, pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified for the third or subsequent time. He was remanded on bail for a report and sentence on May 3.

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Louise Ora Kara, 39, mother, admitted driving with excess breath-alcohol (756mcg) for the third or subsequent time. She was sentenced to 100 hours community work and disqualified for a year and a day.