Man who assaulted resident at Nelson backpackers with teaspoon sentenced to intensive supervision

A man who bought food and coffee from a cafe had to be trespassed after he returned 40 minutes later asking for a refund “because his girlfriend no longer wanted it”.

Cree Veveers became so angry when the cafe wouldn’t give him a refund that he tipped hot coffee over the counter and the Eftpos machine.

It wasn’t the only time the 22-year-old let his emotions get the better of him, with the Nelson District Court hearing how he also assaulted a person with a teaspoon on another occasion.

Veveers has now been sentenced to 18 months’ intensive supervision after pleading guilty to charges of wilful damage, common assault, wilful trespass and shoplifting.

It came with a warning from Judge Richard Russell that Veveers would now have to “impress the living daylights” out of his probation officer as the terms of his sentence would be judicially monitored, and that he was looking at time in prison if he didn’t comply.

He was sentenced for offending that began on Friday, February 11, 2022.

Veveers had been trespassed from a jewellery store in Nelson’s Trafalgar Street, but he entered the store and tried to speak to staff about selling a watch he had.

The staff asked him to leave, but Veveers and an associate hung around for five to 10 minutes.

In October 2022, Veveers went into a central city cafe in Nelson, where he bought food and a takeaway coffee before returning with them, wanting the refund.

The police summary of facts said Veveers became agitated and refused to leave the cafe when told his reasons for wanting a refund weren’t valid, and was then trespassed by the owner.

Veveers responded by taking the lid off the coffee cup and pouring it over the counter and Eftpos terminal before walking out. The Eftpos machine was ruined by the hot drink.

On December 28, 2022, Veveers got into an argument with another resident at the backpackers where he lived and threw a salt container at him, but it missed and hit a glass door which then smashed.

The manager confronted Veveers, who then threw a teaspoon at the manager, but it missed him and hit another resident in the forehead, cutting him.

Veveers told police he “hadn’t even known” the teaspoon was in his hand, and what had happened was an accident that “wasn’t supposed to happen”.

“I was making a cup of tea - it flung out of my hand when I hit the table,” he said.

In April this year, Veveers went into a suburban Nelson dairy and asked for three packets of cigarettes. The storekeeper put them on the counter, and Veveers grabbed them and ran off without paying.

He later told police he had no money, but needed to trade them for a tinnie (a small package of cannabis usually sold for approximately $20).

Veveers’ lawyer Josh Friend said his behaviour was linked to an upbringing that was “anything but glamorous”, the details of which were contained in a 26-page cultural report.

Judge Russell also noted Veveers’ limited education and his exposure to drugs and violence from a young age.

“I’m going to keep an eye on you. Every three months, I will get a report from probation services, and if I’m not happy, I can recall you and look at a tougher outcome.”

Veveers was ordered to pay $106.50 in reparation for the cigarettes he took, and a $200 emotional harm payment to the cafe owner as compensation for the inconvenience caused by the damage to the Efpos machine.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.