Teen avoids prison for his part in prolonged attack on man walking through Nelson city carpark

The toilet block in Nelson's Buxton Carpark where a group of youths confronted a stranger and savagely beat him over several minutes. Photo / Google Maps

A teenager who kicked and punched his victim over several minutes, breaking his nose, his collarbone and giving him a concussion, would not come out a better person if sent to prison.

He would likely come out worse, Judge Tony Zohrab said in granting Ezra McFarland what he described as a proportionate yet merciful sentence of 12 months of home detention.

The 19-year-old faced up to five years in prison for his part in the prolonged attack in a central Nelson carpark in April 2023.

McFarland was 18 at the time and later admitted a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, but the sentence given today in the Nelson District Court was in the hope that he would not perform a repeat of the “serious violence”.

Crown prosecutor Abigail Goodison said it involved a prolonged, callous beating but McFarland, who had not appeared in court before, was at a pivotal point in his life and on the verge of going one of two ways.

She said there were risks in sending him to prison, whereas home detention provided more scope to put the structure around him to hopefully prevent a recurrence.

Defence lawyer Emma Riddell said McFarland epitomised someone who had been affected greatly by events in his short life and the effects of a family unit having gone downhill.

“This court should not be sending a young person to prison,” she said.

Judge Zohrab said the “cowardly, bully boy” behaviour had had a serious impact on the victim, who posed no threat to the group.

McFarland, who had been out celebrating a friend’s birthday, was “grossly affected by alcohol” when he found himself in part of a social group that was “primed for aggression”, Judge Zohrab said.

Shortly before 1am on Saturday, April 22 last year, he and four associates gathered near the toilet block in the middle of the Buxton Carpark in central Nelson.

The events over the next three minutes were captured on CCTV.

The victim, who McFarland and his associates didn’t know, was walking with a friend across the carpark when they were confronted by the group.

McFarland nudged the victim with his shoulder, causing him to stumble, then forcibly pushed him, which knocked him heavily to the ground and he hit his head on the concrete.

Nelson barrister Emma Riddell: "This court should not be sending a young person to prison."

The victim got up after a few seconds, and at the same time, one of the group swung a punch at the victim’s friend, who was scared away.

A 16-year-old in the group then hit the victim, the blow pushing him over, before McFarland kicked him twice, including in the head and neck.

The group dispersed and the victim’s friend came back to help him, but the group moved back towards them and the violence continued.

The victim was upright but stumbling, and then knocked to the ground again after he was punched by a member of the group.

McFarland knocked the victim back to the ground as he began to sit up, and as he tried to get up off the ground, McFarland made a running kick at him, causing him to stumble backwards and take cover behind a rubbish bin.

McFarland then launched himself off the bin and kicked the victim in the head, and he fell to the ground again.

He was pulled to his feet and stood propped up against the bin before McFarland then punched him at least five times in the head, neck and upper body.

As he tried to get away, he was attacked again and stumbled several metres before falling to the ground.

The victim walked away but when he was several metres away, the associates went after him and punched him again. He ran stumbling several metres and fell to the ground with a broken collar bone, concussion, swelling and bruising and a broken nose before the group walked off.

The victim’s friend came back and helped him up off the ground.

McFarland told the police that he was in town that night but did not recall hurting anyone.

In sentencing, he was given discounts for his youth, personal circumstances and lack of prior offending, the judge arriving at a sentence of two years in prison, which was in the range where something short of a term in prison could be considered.

“This was really serious and while a case could be made for sentencing you to prison because of the significant impact on the victim, I’m acutely conscious of your age and the fact you’ve [got] no prior history,” Judge Zohrab said.

As well as home detention, McFarland was sentenced to 120 hours of community work, ordered to attend an anti-violence programme, alcohol and drug counselling and was made subject to judicial monitoring.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.