Christchurch teen jailed for stabbing, robbing heavily pregnant woman in drug deal

• Jail “inevitable” for Christchurch teen who stabbed a heavily pregnant woman
• Offender earlier witnessed fatal shooting of close friend Connor Whitehead at Chch party
• Numerous unaddressed trauma and grief issues, addiction led to his violent attacks

A woman who was stabbed by a Christchurch teen while she was nine months pregnant - after being lured to an address under false pretences - wants him to “learn from his enormous mistake” and become a better person.

A man attacked the next night in almost identical circumstances showed similar “compassion” at the teen’s sentencing today.

Flynn James Glintmeyer, 19, was sentenced for his “significant” offending in the High Court at Christchurch this morning.

Justice Melanie Harland heard that while neither of Glintmeyer’s victims were in court or wanted their impact statements read - they both recognised he was an extremely troubled teen and hoped the violent offending would result in him turning over a new leaf.

Crown prosecutor Deidre Elsmore said the first victim was “incredibly vulnerable” given she was so heavily pregnant.

“She was extremely fortunate that night in terms of where the wound landed,” she told the court.

“In many ways, this could have been a lot worse.”

Elsmore said the attack had “an enormous impact” on the woman, and the man Glintmeyer and his associates attacked the very next night.

“There is compassion from both victims… they hope he will learn from the enormous mistake he has made.

“The really aggravating factor was, it was well planned… it is extraordinary that the same [offending] was repeated the following night.”

Justice Melanie Harland. Photo / George Heard.

In October Glintmeyer admitted setting up fake online profiles to organise cannabis deals before he and his associates, armed with weapons, attacked their victims.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and two charges of aggravated robbery.

Initially, Glintmeyer was charged with attempted murder. That charge was later challenged by his legal team, and amended.

His co-offenders were dealt with in the Youth Court.

Glintmeyer was older “by a matter of months” and he was treated as an adult offender.

‘Vulnerable’ heavily pregnant woman stabbed

The Herald earlier reported the details of the offending, which occurred in July 2022 when Glintmeyer was 17.

Glintmeyer used a fake Facebook profile called “Cody Flyer” to organise a cannabis deal with a 28-year-old woman.

When she arrived at the set meeting point the teen and four associates, wearing masks, approached her car.

Glintmeyer was armed with a knife and one of the other youths was brandishing an imitation Glock pistol.

The pistol-wielding teen got into the passenger seat and pointed the fake weapon at the woman’s head.

She later told NZME she lunged for it, believing it was real.

Glintmeyer was sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch. Photo / George Heard

She explained her actions were instinctive and she was thinking only of protecting her unborn child.

“I think if I wasn’t pregnant to be honest it wouldn’t have been much of a fight, it was more me fighting for my baby to be honest,” she said.

“I don’t know why but I grabbed it. I was trying to pull it away,” she said.

Two of the teens tried to “rip” her out of the car while others shouted about grabbing her keys.

She was struck in the head with the imitation Glock.

Glintmeyer then approached the car and stabbed the woman in her right thigh, causing a deep wound.

“I remember trying to fight them off and I felt like he had punched me in the leg,” she said.

“I was more trying to protect my tummy because I was two weeks away from giving birth.”

The woman said the teens ran off after the alarm was activated.

She got out of the car to pick up her keys from the road and realised she was bleeding.

“I felt something running down my leg and then I look down on the ground and see a pile of blood on the concrete.

“I thought ‘oh I got stabbed’,” she said.

She was rushed to hospital by ambulance. Her wound was stitched and checks were done to make sure the baby was okay.

She was discharged later that night and five days later, gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

While the woman said it was a “very scary” experience, she thought Glintmeyer and his associates needed help.

“The one that stabbed me, yeah, I think he just was really not in the right headspace and think he just needed some help.”

The young offenders discussed their first offence on Snapchat, and organised the second on the same social media platform. Photo / File

‘Gaggles Goodies’ and the second robbery

The day after Glintmeyer and his associates robbed the woman they were communicating through Snapchat, discussing the previous night’s robbery and organising another.

Glintmeyer used a second Facebook profile he owned called “Gaggles Goodies” to arrange a cannabis sale with a 37-year-old man.

When he arrived the teens donned the facemasks and approached his car.

One climbed into the passenger seat and pointed the imitation pistol at the man’s head.

Glintmeyer and two others opened the driver’s door and someone began to hit the victim.

The teen in the passenger seat joined in, striking the man around the head with the fake gun.

The man managed to get out of the car and run away.

Glintmeyer’s lawyer Ethan Huda accepted the “spree offending” was serious but said his client needed “significant help” to get through some deeply personal issues including the death of a close friend and fractious family relationships

Huda said it was Glintmeyer’s first offence and the court should take that, his youth, mental health and other personal circumstances into consideration.

Justice Harland said a term of imprisonment was “inevitable” given the severity of the offending - where the victims were “outnumbered” and the pregnant woman was “understandably scared for her life”.

“She thought she was going to die,” she said.

“The assault has affected her in very many ways. She has struggled to leave her house... she becomes upset when she thinks about what happened to her.”

Remarkably, the judge said, the woman had empathy for Glintmeyer.

“I want the young men - and that includes you - to learn from what they have done and do something with their lives, better themselves,” she told the court.

“I would like them to find better influences.”

Justice Harland acknowledged Glintmeyer had taken responsibility for his part in the crime - organising the acts and luring the victims to their assaults.

In court she discussed the teen’s background, saying he needed “significant help to overcome difficulties”.

“You endured more hardship than many do in a lifetime,” she said.

“You were bullied relentlessly at school... and had a close friend die in a shooting, in your presence.”

Connor Whitehead, 16, was shot dead on November 5, 2021.

In May, Daniel Nelson Sparks and Joshua David Craig Smith were found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

Smith, who fired the fatal shot, was jailed for seven years. Sparks was jailed for six years and three months.

Connor Whitehead. Photo / Supplied

Justice Harland told Glintmeyer she presided over the trial for Connor’s killers - so understood the trauma and pain caused.

In the lead up to the offending Glintmeyer learned a relative had been seriously abused and that his mother had a brain tumour.

He quickly developed a drug addiction as he tried to cope - experiencing hallucinations and suicidal thoughts.

“Your grief and trauma issues are largely unaddressed,” she said.

“You have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder... a key factor in your substance abuse, the lifestyle you were leading at the time and problems with violence.”

Justice Harland, after assessing all of the information before her about Glintmeyer and his issues, handed down a sentence of three years and seven months in prison.

She noted he was willing to receive help in prison and had the support of his family and professionals including a psychologist.

“It will be up to you whether you take advantage of those opportunities,” she told the teen.

“You are young enough to make something of your life and move on from this.”

Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years with a particular focus on family violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz