Man jailed for trying to break in to prison

It's not uncommon for someone to appear in court for trying to break out of prison.

However the tables were turned yesterday when Johnathan William Reedy appeared in the Hastings District Court for trying to break in to Hawke's Bay Regional Prison.

What's more, the 17-year-old labourer eventually got his way, being sentenced to a week in prison after pleading guilty to charges of unlawfully being in an enclosed yard, and supplying cannabis.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Dave Greig told the court Reedy climbed a perimeter fence into the prison grounds on July 24, and was seen making a cellphone call at the compound fence, before throwing two items into the prison and running off.

The two items later proved to be an apple and a bag containing about one ounce of cannabis head.

Reedy later told police he had been supplied with the cannabis and the cellphone by Mongrel Mob members, who told him to get the items into the prison.

The cellphone call was believed to be to a prison inmate, to ensure the items were picked up.

Counsel Brian Webby said Reedy was not a gang member or prospect.

In sentencing Reedy, Judge Russell Johnson described his actions as an "affront to the system."

"It's a challenge to the very heart of the justice system, he breaks into the prison and tries to subvert it by throwing drugs in" he said.

- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY