An analysis of the drug methamphetamine and its usage in NZ.
While the country was in level 4 lockdown, four men went to a Rotorua motel and attacked a man who had previously sold one of them sugar instead of methamphetamine.
The four men appeared in the Rotorua District Court last month and pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding withintent to cause grievous bodily harm - arising from a serious assault that left the drug dealer with possibly lifelong head injuries.
Details of their offending have only this week been released to the Rotorua Daily Post by the court.
The men are Darcy Petera Rhind, Benjamin Raymond Friis, Steven Barry Hammon-Henry and Sean Laurence Palmer.
According to a police summary of facts, Palmer and Friis were known to the drug dealer and in mid-April Palmer did a drug deal with the man. Palmer gave him half an ounce of cannabis in return for a quarter of a gram of methamphetamine, however the drug dealer gave Palmer sugar instead of methamphetamine.
On April 27, Friis contacted the drug dealer asking for a quarter of a gram of methamphetamine. The drug dealer gave Friis his address at the Rose Court Motel on Devon St, the summary said.
The dealer sold the group sugar instead of methamphetamine. Photo / File
CCTV cameras at the motel captured the assault, which showed the men arrived about midnight on April 27 in a Toyota vehicle driven by Hammon-Henry.
Hammon-Henry, Rhind, Palmer and Friis got out of the vehicle and surrounded the drug dealer's unit in what the summary described as a "pre-planned manner" and demanded he come to the door.
The summary said the drug dealer feared for his safety and fled out the back door and ran across the road.
The four men gave chase across and down the road before turning back towards the motel.
He was caught by Palmer and thrown to the ground. The four men then began to repeatedly punch and kick the man's head, face and upper body. The summary said the man was unable to defend himself and lay motionless.
A young woman who was in a nearby motel unit came out and tried to stop the men's assault but she retreated into her motel unit when her young child came out.
Hammon-Henry and Palmer walked towards the young woman's unit and made aggressive gestures and gang motions towards the door.
The summary said the men were acting as a "pack" but there were individual actions by each during the assault.
Rotorua Courthouse. Photo / File
Palmer put the man on the ground, punched his face and kicked and stomped him around the face, head and chest at least 10 times. He also rolled him on to his back and punched him at least two times in the face.
Later in the assault, Palmer went through the man's pockets, physically lifted him up off the ground and spun him over so he landed on his face and front. As everyone was preparing to leave, Palmer delivered a heavy blindside punch to the complainant's face.
Rhind held the man down on the ground while the others assaulted him. He also yelled at the man various times throughout. Towards the end of the assault, Rhind walked over to their vehicle's boot and opened it, suggesting to the others they put the man in the boot. While the man was on the ground, Rhind then kicked him in the face.
Hammon-Henry punched him in the face at least seven times and kicked him in the face twice. He also took a photo of the man's face as he lay on the ground. Later in the assault, Hammon-Henry walked over to the man and delivered a solid kick to his chest.
Friis punched the man's upper chest and rib area at least six times. When the man tried to stand up, Friis kneed him in the head and then fell over on top of him, putting him back on the ground. He also kicked him twice in the face.
The assault lasted about two minutes and 10 seconds. The man was taken to Rotorua Hospital and on to Waikato Hospital, the summary said.
He had bruising and swelling to his face and a cut to his left forehead.
A CT scan on the man's head showed multiple facial fractures including in the nose and upper jaw on both sides. He was bleeding in his left eye and a bleed on the right side of his brain needed surgery at Waikato Hospital.
The man has suffered ongoing concussion and further medical reports are being completed to determine if there will be continuing medical problems, the summary said.
When the men were arrested by police, it was noted they had bloodstained clothing and footwear, it said.
At their court appearance on November 6 in the Rotorua District Court, the men were given three-strikes warnings by Judge Tony Snell.
The warning is given to anyone who commits a serious violence or sexual offence and means if an offender reaches three strikes, judges must impose the maximum sentence without any chance of early release.
The men had been on bail before the hearing and were supported in court by a large contingent of family members and friends. There were tears from people in the public gallery, with some yelling out "I love you", as Judge Snell remanded them in custody to reappear for sentencing on February 12.
