Daniel Black was sentenced to home detention for beating a man and stealing his motorcycle. Photo / 123rf
Daniel Black was sentenced to home detention for beating a man and stealing his motorcycle. Photo / 123rf
A man who did mechanical repairs for gang members was beaten and had his $20,000 motorcycle stolen when it was discovered he had “snitched” to his partner about what the gang had been up to.
The bike was later listed for sale online with a price tag of $27,000 and the victim was left so fearful for his safety that he left town, leaving him unable to see his children for a time.
As a result of the offending, Daniel Black was sentenced to six months’ home detention and six months of post-detention conditions on charges of assault with intent to injure, assault with a weapon and theft.
However, Black has now successfully appealed the sentence in the High Court.
In the High Court’s judgment, determined last week, it said he had been sentenced in New Plymouth District Court on March 17 this year.
That court heard Black and the victim knew each other as the victim would do mechanical repairs for Black and the gang he was affiliated with. The name of the gang was not mentioned in the decision.
On September 15, 2021, the victim and his partner were having an argument about his relationship with the gang when Black and another gang associate arrived at their house.
As his partner left, she said to Black and the associate that she “knew what you were up to”.
The following day, Black and another man turned up at the victim’s house.
He had been working on his bike and greeted them with a “hello”. But Black responded by punching the man in the head.
The victim fell to the ground and Black told him he was a “snitch” and had been “telling his partner everything”.
Black successfully appealed his sentence in the High Court. Photo / NZME
Black and his associate then delivered a number of blows to the victim who became disoriented. He heard his toolbox being opened and then a screwdriver was held to his throat.
A comment was made by one of the men about how he “should just be stabbed”.
Black proceeded to take the victim’s bike while the associate grabbed a cellphone, security camera, and an SD card.
The following day, another gang associate returned to the house and gave back the cellphone and camera. Black also returned and told the victim if he wanted his bike back he had to pay $10,000.
Shortly after, Black listed the motorbike for sale on Facebook. There was a search warrant and the bike was located.
As a result of the attack, the victim suffered bruising to his head and face and a sore back.
He made a statement around December that year, detailing how he had moved out of town and, consequently, had not seen his children for some time.
“The upheaval for him has been massive and led to extreme difficulty,” the decision stated.
“He had stayed away from people, felt like he was on the run, looking over his shoulder, needed to sell his house and sell the bike because he was worried about how identifiable it is and that would lead to him being tracked down by, presumably, [Black] or others.”
At Black’s sentencing, Judge Gregory Hikaka took a start point of three years imprisonment with three months added for previous convictions.
He accepted the findings of a report which linked background factors to Black’s offending and recorded that following an ultimatum from Black’s partner, he had left the gang and secured employment.
The judge gave credit for guilty pleas, background factors and said he took into account the length of time - 359 days - Black was remanded in custody before he was sentenced.
On appeal, defence lawyer Kylie Pascoe submitted to the High Court that Judge Hikaka erred by failing to properly account for the time Black spent in custody.
Pascoe argued Black should be given full credit for that time, with the result that any sentence of home detention effectively was reduced to time served.
High Court Justice Robinson agreed with Judge Hikaka’s approach in that an appropriate discount for the background matters raised would lead to a short-term sentence of imprisonment.
He also agreed it was right to convert that sentence to one of home detention, if putting to one side the time Black spent in custody.
But Justice Robinson did not consider the principles and purposes of sentencing required him to be detained at home for six months in addition to the time he was remanded behind bars.
He ruled the end sentence was manifestly excessive and allowed the appeal.
In quashing the sentence, Justice Robinson replaced it with three months of home detention, given Black had already served that term at the time of appeal. The six months of post-detention conditions remained.
Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff where she covered crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.
