Teen quake burglar jailed 'as example'

A teenager has been jailed for 17 months for two burglaries committed in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake. Photo / Greg Bowker

A teenager's two burglaries were carried out after the September earthquake while people were significantly vulnerable, Judge Jane Farish said in Christchurch District Court today as she sentenced him to 17 months' imprisonment.

She said the damage done to the Rhodes family home at Hororata was splashed all over the news and some of the family were lucky to survive. Ryan Morgan Dempsey, 18, and Bradley Richard Ivan Stempa, 17, took advantage of it.

Defence counsel David Stringer said Dempsey's co-offender Stempa received a sentence of 100 hours community work.

At the sentencing at the Rangiora Court House, he said Dempsey's pre-sentence report said he had had a major change in attitude since he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and had been medicated with Ritalin while in prison.

Dempsey's sentencing has had to be put off numerous times as he failed to attend court, but Mr Stringer said when Dempsey walked out of court there would be nothing to remind him of when to return, and there was no way he could remember the next date to appear.

Mr Stringer said that since living with his sister for three months, Dempsey had lived a clean lifestyle without drugs or alcohol.

Some of the stolen goods had been recovered, but some were in a damaged state, he said.

Judge Jane Farish said the youth went to the home of Dempsey's former employer and stole five firearms, which he knew he could sell on the black market. She said it was premeditated, and a concern to the court that some of the firearms were still missing.

She said his pre-sentence report said he was aggrieved with his employer and taking the firearms was revenge. He was at medium risk of re-offending.

Dempsey had had an unstructured life for the last 12 months, but the thefts were generated by greed rather than need, and the only remorse he had shown was since he had been in custody, she said.

Dempsey had kicked the Rhodes family when they were down, she added.

In these times of disruption, stress, and distress, the public wanted earthquake burglars dealt with firmly, and as an example to others, she said.

She sentenced Dempsey to 17 months in prison, and said she had no faith that he would abide by a community-based sentence.

She ordered a reparation payment of $3550, and disqualified him from driving for six months.

She ordered a special release condition that Dempsey live and work as directed by a probation officer for six months after his release date. She cancelled his present community work sentence.

- NZPA