KEY POINTS:
A Tauranga man with an "extremely bad record" was jailed for 26 months today for threatening to kill his terrified ex-partner, who hid in a swamp.
Benjamin Anderson, 47, beneficiary, was on parole for an identical offence committed at the end of last year when he again got drunk and became violent.
He appeared for sentence before Judge Thomas Ingram in Tauranga District Court, where he had pleaded guilty early last month.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
Although Anderson expressed genuine remorse and the will to seek help to reform, he was "pretty big on talk but also pretty big on recidivist behaviour," Judge Ingram said.
The defendant acknowledged that alcohol was a big part of his offending and now wanted counselling. However, he had not taken full advantage of an earlier range of sentencing options.
"I could not agree more that you need assistance," said the judge.
A letter he had received from Anderson revealed he was a man of some intelligence who was "quite capable of talking things through".
"It seems to me you are in for a substantial period of imprisonment. I am mindful to leave the issue of assistance with your problems to the Parole Board," the judge told Anderson, who kept his head bowed as he stood in the dock.
"You have a long and bad record, with a few less than 50 convictions, six of them for assault."
The court heard that Anderson, a father of five, had been with his former de facto wife and children at Pukehina Beach near Te Puke when the couple got into an argument.
"You told her you had a gun in your van and would kill her," said Judge Ingram. "She asked you to leave. You went, saying you were going to get the gun."
When he returned, the woman fled for her safety, hiding in a swamp in a paddock behind the property. The armed offenders squad was called.
"The victim is absolutely sick to death of the on-going trouble with you. You constantly threaten her, drinking a good deal of the time," the judge said.
"She wants to get on with her life, and wants you to as well."
The couple shared custody of the children and Anderson was caregiver for his invalid father.
Lawyer Craig Tuck said the defendant acknowledged his immaturity and had written an apology to the victim.
"It is time, he says, to grow up."
- NZPA
