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Cannabis use "sucked the life" out of Zach Furniss, changing the 16-year-old lifesaving hero into a pistol-wielding thief, says his father.
Napier funeral director Glenn Furniss deals with grief on a daily basis but still finds it hard dealing with the fall from grace of his son who, in the space of a few months, went from being lauded for saving a girl from drowning to holding a pistol to a dairy proprietor's face.
It was an eventful year for the teenager, who also spent more than a month at a Christian conference in Brazil while on bail awaiting sentence.
Today he's in jail after breaching the conditions of his release.
Mr Furniss said that deferral of the sentence had not been sought for his son, who was jailed with co-offender Jason King.
He doubted whether there was any point now applying for home detention, which would not be considered before mid-February.
"What I want is the right sentence, not a light sentence," he said. "And if the right one is sweeping the [prison] compound yards then bring it on."
Mr Furniss said he had watched as his son deteriorated through the use of cannabis. It "sucks the life" out of young users, and he had told his son it was killing him.
He said "not enough" was made of the harm cannabis use could do.
Robbery victim Lou Hay, who yesterday vented her distress over the leniency shown the robbers in court, said she didn't realise how much the trauma had affected her until she was told that Furniss and King were back in custody.
"Justice has been served," she said. "It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders ... I can celebrate Christmas with my family."
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
