'Stupid' destruction ends in court

RAMPAGE: Three drunk men who violently smashed up a residential street say they were "stupid". PHOTO/FILE WTA311014TSGLASS

Three mates who got drunk and then went on a rampage wrecking letterboxes and smashing bottles on the street as they headed towards the centre of town have appeared in court with one stating it was a "stupid thing to do".

All three, Reon David Skeet, 20, Braden Kenneth Ian Woolford, 20, and Angus George Bakker, 19, appeared before Judge Barbara Morris in Masterton District Court recently pleading guilty to wilful damage, disorderly behaviour and depositing dangerous litter. Skeet and Woolford also pleaded guilty to unlawfully being in an enclosed yard.

Prosecutor Sergeant Garry Wilson said the trio were drinking at a Stout St address on September 29 when just after midnight they decided to walk into town. As they headed along Edith St they removed a letter box from one property and left it on the driveway and then began tipping over wheelie bins causing rubbish to spill on to the road. As they continued along Upper Plain Rd they began kicking over road signs and more wheelie bins, picking up a recycling container and breaking glass from it on to the road causing a "dangerous hazard", Mr Wilson said.

Council workers were called out to clear away their mess.

They continued their behaviour as they walked along Renall and College Sts with Bakker kicking a car parked in a driveway, leaving a foot-sized dent in the rear passenger door.

A number of residents were woken by their behaviour, Mr Wilson said, with police following the "trail of destruction" from Edith St to College St, catching up with the trio hiding behind properties in College St.

Judge Morris remanded Bakker and Woolford to be considered for police diversion as they have no previous convictions. They are due back in court on November 10 and if they are accepted for diversion will not receive a conviction. People with no previous convictions or who haven't been convicted of a crime for many years can be considered for diversion.

Meanwhile, Skeet, who told the judge it was a "stupid thing to do" and "I have no explanation for my actions", was convicted and sentenced to nine months' supervision and ordered to undertake alcohol and drug counselling as directed by his probation officer.