Dunedin mother takes children on burglary excursion

The youngest boy, 12 years old, sat in the car while his 28-year-old brother raided a shed on a Pine Hill property late on April 19 last year, a court has heard. Photo / Getty Images

A Dunedin mother took her two sons on a family outing with a difference - to commit a burglary.

The youngest boy, 12 years old, sat in the car while his 28-year-old brother raided a shed on a Pine Hill property late on April 19 last year, a court has heard.

''It's just unbelievable,'' Judge Kevin Phillips said.

Tania Mere Taumata (51) was due to be sentenced at the Dunedin District Court yesterday but the hearing was adjourned so home detention could be assessed.

Her older son, Southland man Chancey Kahn Wairau, was jailed for five months after admitting his role in the crime and ordered to pay $1900 reparation.

The jail term was added to a 15-month stint he was serving at present for another burglary.

A summary of facts revealed how his mother drove him to a Cowan Rd address late at night.

Wairau removed two padlocks to gain entrance to a shed from which he removed a generator and a lawn-mower.

''The burglary was premeditated,'' the judge said. ''Clearly you had some knowledge as to what you would find on the property.''

Despite the family ties, neither defendant was keen to take the blame for what happened, the court heard.

''She argues she was pressured into it by you. You say it was her pressurising you,'' Judge Phillips said to Wairau.

''I've no doubt at all here your involvement was equal to your mother.''

Prosecutor Marie Grills said the Crown was ''extremely concerned'' that Taumata - whose Facebook profile states ''I am a proud mummy!'' - took the 12-year-old to the burglary and was now relying on the fact she needed to care for the boy as a reason to avoid a jail term.

The judge was flabbergasted by what had taken place in April.

''This woman took her very young son on a burglary excursion with her,'' he said.

''She doesn't seem to understand the basic morals of being a mother.''

When she pleaded guilty, another judge had asked for a report to be prepared by Probation to review whether an electronically-monitored sentence was viable.

That had not happened.

Judge Phillips said Taumata was facing an approximate 18-month prison term but he needed a ''detailed report'' before he could consider whether that should be converted to home detention.

As well as the burglary, the woman was also in trouble over two instances of driving while her licence was suspended.

She had been convicted of such an offence at least three times in the past, court documents showed.

When Taumata was pulled over on May 6 in Mataura, police told her the Honda she was driving would be impounded because of her licence status.

The 51-year-old walked away from the scene while police completed paperwork and was eventually arrested for obstruction.

Taumata then resisted arrest as officers tried to get her off the road, and assaulted a constable by kicking him in the leg as efforts were being made to bundle her into a police car.

She ''offered no explanation'' for her actions, a summary said.

Two weeks later, Taumata was caught in Dunedin behind the wheel again.

She will be sentenced later this month.