A Dacre man who smashed holes in a wall at Southland Hospital and threatened his partner with a knife said he would do whatever he could to go to jail.
Gerald Davis, 32, appeared in the Invercargill District Court yesterday on two charges of threatening to kill, one of possessing a weapon and one of wilful damage.
The defendant got his wish when Judge Mark Callaghan sentenced him to 14 months’ imprisonment.
On April 12, Davis texted his partner of one month to tell her he was coming over.
Despite her asking him not to, he showed up at her address.
Davis took a boning knife from the kitchen and held it a centimetre away from the victim’s throat, the court heard.
In self-defence she kicked him in the groin and he put the weapon away.
Later he picked it up and threatened her again.
This time the victim took the knife from Davis, who was still refusing to leave her property.
She called the police and he was arrested.
The month before, Davis was waiting with mental health staff at Southland Hospital.
He said, “I’m going to do whatever I can to get to jail,” picked up a chair and used it to smash four holes in the wall.
The court heard he then ripped a plastic rack of pamphlets off the wall.
Judge Callaghan said there were “some underlying factors which need to be addressed”.
“You need to be able to moderate your behaviour when you are in a relationship and that may take a lot of learning,” he told Davis.
The judge granted him leave to apply for home detention.
“If you can get out ... and get some work, then that might help you lead as normal of a life as possible,” he said.
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