Vigilante action will be met with a stern response from the court, a judge today told the Wellington man who slashed hundreds of tyres of airport users parking on nearby streets. Photo / Frances Cook
Vigilante action will be met with a stern response from the court, a judge today told the Wellington man who slashed hundreds of tyres of airport users parking on nearby streets. Photo / Frances Cook
Wellington's vigilante tyre slasher will spend the best part of the next two years behind bars.
David Johns became so frustrated with airport users parking on Miramar streets that he slashed the tyres of hundreds of cars with a sharpened screwdriver.
The 53-year-old was sentenced at the Wellington District Court today to 22 months in prison, on charges of wilful damage and possessing an offensive weapon.
Police estimate 300 tyres were slashed between October last year and January this year, causing around $20,000 worth of damage.
In sentencing Judge Tim Black said he does not believe Johns is remorseful, because he told a psychologist he was proud of what he did and sees himself as a vigilante.
"Vigilante action will be met with a stern response from the court, people are not entitled to take the law into their own hands."
The streets near Wellington Airport are often crowded with cars, which has led to an ongoing feud between residents and those trying to avoid paying for airport parking.
Johns was caught by police during a plainclothes operation early in the morning on January 26.
David Johns, 53, was sentenced at the Wellington District Court today for using a sharpened screwdriver to slash car tyres in the suburb of Miramar. Photo / Facebook
Just after six in morning he was seen driving to Miro St, parking his vehicle, stabbing the left tyre of a car parked on the street, then moving on to do the same thing to five others in the immediate area.
On the day he was arrested he had broken rules he had set for himself, not going out after 6am and only in bad weather, to avoid being caught.
When he was arrested he admitted puncturing tyres in the area on numerous occasions over the previous six months because he was frustrated with the Wellington City Council's inaction over parking issues in the area, and did not like people using his suburb as a giant car park.
The majority of the cars he targeted were parked legally.
The court was provided with 51 victim impact statements.
"A common theme is the distress and inconvenience they faced when returning home, in many instances from a holiday, late at night in the case of overseas flights and sometimes in bad weather, to find their car tyres had been slashed and they were not able to complete their journey," Judge Black said.
Some people had to fork out hundreds of dollars to replace tyres, and many did not claim insurance because the excess was too high, or were not insured in the first place.
"For you to say to as you did to a psychologist that you targeted nicer cars where the people could afford to fix the tyres or pay for parking, is just simply not right."
Johns was not ordered to pay reparation because he is unemployed, has no assets and is on a benefit.
