A former Northland man who repeatedly stabbed a gang member on a service station forecourt in a dispute over a stolen car has avoided going to jail.
Simon Van Duyn appeared in the Kaikohe District Court on a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm relating to an August 22, 2020, incident at Mobil on Kaikohe's main street.
Judge Brandt Shortland sentenced him to 12 months' home detention, with Van Duyn dodging a prison term partly because of his "amazing feat" of getting off methamphetamine by himself and staying clean for 18 months.
The court heard Van Duyn's car had been taken from his home a few days earlier. It was also "pretty much his shelter" at the time so the vehicle meant a lot, Judge Shortland said.
"Understandably you were angry and upset, but the way you dealt with it was not the appropriate way. Two wrongs do not make a right."