A man who terrorised a Runanga family he did not know in a home invasion earlier this year, has been sentenced to nine months' supervision and ordered to pay $750 for emotional harm.
The Greymouth District Court on Monday heard that the victim was at home on May 24 with
his 13-year-old son and his 12-year-old friend when he heard a thud at the back door. He got up and went to the kitchen where he found the defendant, Zarn Murphy, standing in front of him, flexing his muscles.
Murphy told the victim, "don't give me any grief", and then grabbed the man and got him into a headlock. After the victim got free, Murphy jumped on the kitchen bench, shouting, "I could f...g kill you, I could f...g take you".
The victim managed to escape to the toilet, got out of the house and drove off. However, when he remembered his son was still at home he returned to the property and found police there already.
Lawyer Richard Bodle said Murphy, who had been drinking before the incident, had no recollection of the offence.
