Manslaughter charge two years after man went missing in harbour. Video / Hayden Woodward
An Auckland man who intimidated a fellow Viaduct bar patron to the point the other man felt compelled to sprint away and jump into the nearby Waitematā Harbour, eventually drowning, has had his bid for home detention rejected.
“You were brought up to believe violence is an appropriate and acceptable way to treat others,” Justice Timothy Brewer said today of Joniero Irving’s difficult upbringing before announcing a sentence of four years and eight months’ imprisonment. “However, your motivation [for the attack] ... was clearly financial.”
Irving has been in prison since February, when jurors in the High Court at Auckland found him guilty of the manslaughter of James Harley David Jenkins, a 24-year-old remembered by his loved ones for his infectious smile. Jenkins died on the morning of October 7, 2019, but his body wasn’t recovered from the water until a week later.
During the trial this year, jurors watched the confrontation between the two men unfold from multiple CCTV cameras. Irving and Jenkins first encountered each other that morning at waterfront bar Andrew Andrew and, while there was no audio, the exchange seemed to have prompted Jenkins to hide an expensive necklace he had been wearing - placing it in his partner’s bag.
Cameras outside the bar later showed Jenkins backing away with his hands up - then breaking into a sprint in the opposite direction - as Irving approached him in the car park. Moments later, at 4.12am, Jenkins jumped from the pier into the water and swam 80-100m to the ferry terminal, footage and witnesses indicated.
A ferry worker and security guards tried to intervene in the 20 minutes that followed, and at one point Jenkins got out of the water and handed over the two gold rings he was wearing, “but that didn’t stop you”, Justice Brewer pointed out today. The defendant continued to stalk and shadow the victim, yelling threats and demanding that he also hand over the gold necklace, the judge said.
Irving eventually left, but by that point Jenkins had jumped in the water again because of the continued threats.
“Mr Jenkins weakened in the water,” Justice Brewer recounted. “He did not respond to efforts to help him.
Irving wasn’t charged with manslaughter until two years later, and he declined to speak with police at that time or to testify on his own behalf during the trial. Despite that, Justice Brewer said today that he is satisfied there had been some sort of history between the two men.
Because of the lack of information about what started the confrontation, Brewer referred to the taking of the rings as “extortion” rather than “robbery”. But the attack was clearly financially motivated, he repeated.
During an emotional victim impact statement at the start of the sentencing hearing, Jenkins’ mother described her eldest child and only son as a “gentle soul” who had overcome a traumatic brain injury as a child after scaffolding fell on him. His greatest fear had been drowning, she said through tears as she was hugged by her daughter, who was 12 when her brother died.
“You could have taken the rings and walked away,” she said.
“James was handsome, kind and had an infectious personality. He was always smiling. You took away the most precious thing to me.”
She referred to testimony from the trial in which a friend of Irving’s described the incident as “gangster s*** seen only in mafia movies”.
“Let me make this clear: You are not a man. You are definitely not a gangster,” she said. “If you want money, get a job and work for it.”
Defence lawyer Lorraine Smith later submitted a letter of apology to the judge and said her client is “truly sorry” for what occurred that morning. The judge, however, was dubious of the claim.
“He’s kept the rings - he hasn’t even disclosed where they are,” Justice Brewer said. “I mean, remorse? Really?”
Joniero Irving appears in Auckland High Court charged with manslaughter after the drowning death of James Harley David Jenkins. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Smith sought hefty discounts for her client’s youth - he was 23 at the time - and for his “appalling background”, which included a physically abusive father, getting expelled from school due to his own anger issues and exposure at an early age to gangs and drugs.
“It appears he’s had a long-standing, deep-seated burning anger inside of him” as a result of his upbringing that, when paired with his immaturity at the time, might help explain the “inappropriate and inexplicable” level of anger he showed that night, Smith said.
But Justice Brewer said the facts of the case didn’t involve impulsivity, which youth discounts are generally designed to address.
“Your conduct was deliberate,” he told the defendant. “You had plenty of time to stop. You carried on even after you got the rings.”
He declined any discount for youth or remorse but allowed a 15 per cent discount for his upbringing, even though the defence had sought a 40 per cent discount. The judge said 40 per cent would represent the maximum possible discount for cultural and background issues, which wouldn’t be appropriate as he had dealt with cases of deprivation much worse than Irving’s.
Irving, who sat quietly throughout the hearing, turned to the victim’s family as he stood up to be led out of the courtroom.
“Sorry guys. Sorry for what I done. I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he said, as one of Jenkins’ young family members yelled back, “You’re not f***ing sorry,” and burst into tears.
“I’m solid,” Irving added as members of his own family started yelling out support for him. “I’ll do anything for my family.”
After Irving was led away by guards to a holding cell and his family filed out of the courtroom, Jenkins’ mother and little sister remained behind, hugging each other and sobbing.
