Police found Waikato man Hikurangi Harrison sitting in his car with this 30cm knife shoved into the air vent. He was sentenced to six months' home detention for that and other offending on Friday. Photo / Supplied
Police found Waikato man Hikurangi Harrison sitting in his car with this 30cm knife shoved into the air vent. He was sentenced to six months' home detention for that and other offending on Friday. Photo / Supplied
A man left seriously injured in a crash years earlier deliberately drove into two motorists before months later being found with a .22 firearm and a 30cm knife crudely shoved into his vehicle’s air vent.
It came several months after he’d purposely driven his car into vehicles, one of which had two small children inside, as he drove around the streets of Ngaruawahia.
No one was injured.
Harrison, who had been involved in a serious car crash years earlier that left him with a head injury and reliant on a walking stick, appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Friday for sentencing on multiple charges from two separate incidents.
The first was on the afternoon of June 29, 2023, when a victim saw Harrison involved in a minor collision at the intersection of Ellery and Herschel Sts.
The motorist followed him to get his details but Harrison did a U-turn and drove straight towards him. He hit the right-wheel guard of the trailer the motorist was towing, causing a small dent.
Harrison drove off, with a “significantly damaged” right front tyre, at 80-90km/h in a 50km/h zone.
Police found Waikato man Hikurangi Harrison sitting in his car with this 30cm knife shoved into the air vent. He was sentenced to six months' home detention for that and other offending on Friday.
The knife was 30cm long with a 20cm blade.
He then entered a roundabout the wrong way and crashed into another vehicle being driven by a father with his 3-year-old and 7-month-old as passengers.
Harrison’s car scraped the rear panel but no one was injured.
He drove off without checking on the occupants and was eventually stopped by the first victim who blocked him in on Te Wiata Lane.
Judge Glen Marshall warned Harrison, who was supported in court by whānau, that if he reoffended, “things could get more difficult” for him.
After taking a 23-month jail starting point, the judge allowed 20% discount for the defendant’s guilty pleas and a further 10% for the “considerable difficulties” he continues to suffer, including his head injury, from his previous crash.
Judge Marshall got down to 16 months' jail before converting it to six months' home detention.
The judge also ordered the destruction of the firearm and disqualified Harrison from driving for 12 months.
Harrison was also ordered to pay back the second victim’s $500 insurance excess at $10 a week.
