Recidivist thief Ricky Tukurangi left bloody trail for police at crime scenes

A forensic scientist from the ESR retrieves a DNA sample from a stolen car. Ricky Tukurangi twice left blood on cars he tried to break into. Photo / File

A clumsy recidivist thief who cut himself twice within a week, leaving blood at his crime scenes, was tracked down by police using the DNA database.

Ricky Tukurangi, 38, of Auckland, used a flat-bladed screwdriver to try to lever the rear hatch of a Mazda on August 27, 2023, damaging the car.

The screwdriver snapped and cut Tukurangi, causing him to bleed on the vehicle, a recent High Court decision detailed.

On September 2, 2023, Tukurangi smashed the front passenger window of a Mitsubishi, stealing a backpack and a mobile phone from inside the vehicle.

Again, he cut himself, and his blood was found on several pieces of broken glass inside the vehicle.

The blood was linked with Tukurangi on the national DNA database, managed by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) on behalf of the police.

The database stores DNA profiles of convicted offenders.

Tukurangi had a long list of previous convictions, including 14 for theft and 22 for shoplifting.

For his latest crimes, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison on February 13 this year.

He had pleaded guilty to interfering with a motor vehicle, theft, shoplifting, receiving a motor vehicle and driving while forbidden.

He shoplifted on September 25 last year, loading meat products into a shopping basket at a supermarket and leaving without paying.

On October 7, Tukurangi was seen driving a car which had been taken earlier from Mount Wellington.

When police found the car abandoned, the ignition barrel had been completely smashed.

He was found a short distance away, still carrying a bent fork used to start the car.

Tukurangi has been an unlicensed or forbidden driver for more than 10 years.

Recently, he appealed against his prison sentence to the High Court, arguing that a sentence of imprisonment was “manifestly excessive”.

Tukurangi believed he should instead have received a sentence of community detention - a night-time curfew monitored by an electronic bracelet - and intensive supervision by a probation officer.

But in his decision, Justice Geoffrey Venning disagreed, dismissing the appeal and upholding the jail term.

Justice Venning noted that Tukurangi had been sentenced to the combination of community detention and intensive supervision in April 2020.

Within three months, he went on to commit an aggravated robbery and two assaults with intent to injure, among other offences.

“Mr Tukurangi has had a number of chances in the past to rehabilitate but has spurned those opportunities,” Justice Venning said.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.