Mon, Sep 19, 2022 1:09 PM
Staff Reporter
Million-dollar theft denied
TE KŪITI woman Bronwyn Rutter has denied stealing $1.5 million from a vulnerable family member and pleaded not guilty at Te Kūiti District Court last week.
When asked how she was by Judge Tony Greig, Rutter said she was frightened and this was her first time in court in 66 years.
Fine for firearm charge
A MAN caught up in a search by police for people with warrants for their arrests at the marae in Marokopa was sentenced by Judge Grieg.
Adam Nathan was not whom police were looking for his lawyer Joseph Hamblett said, but they found him in possession of a rifle when he did not have a licence. He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and resisting police.
In defence of the resisting police charge, Hamblett said it was not clear who the two people were on the boat crossing the river as the officers were wearing plain clothes. The charge of resisting police was withdrawn by police prosecutor Baden Hilton due to the confusion.
The prosecutor said the police officers identified themselves on arrival and everyone on shore went running after someone shouted “it’s the five-oh.” They were wearing police uniform under their outerwear, he said.
He also reduced the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm to unlicensed possession of a firearm. Hilton explained the alteration as being because there was nothing sinister in Nathan having the rifle.
Nathan had been out hunting with licensed firearm holders on the coast when their dogs ran off. His two companions went in search of the dogs, leaving him with a 7mm caliber rifle. He returned to the marae with the rifle where he was snapped up by police.
Judge Grieg fined him $400, saying he accepted the explanation and it was just “a bit unfortunate” how it happened.
Nathan was also in court on a charge of behaving threateningly because in a separate incident he smashed some household goods and decorations in an argument. He was convicted and discharged without penalty.
Guilt admitted
GUILTY pleas were entered by Wayne Sicely to two charges of contravening a protection order. He is due to be sentenced next month.
Sentence for assault
HANGATIKI man Hemara Flint Wallace was sentenced to four months community detention and ordered to make a $300 emotional harm payment to his victims after he assaulted two family members. The 27-year-old had been drinking before heading to a block of land which was the centre of a familial dispute to collect some belongings.
When there he punched two family members in the face and head area, causing facial injuries to both and one victim had to receive eight stitches in their ear.
Wallace’s sister was present in the public gallery and spoke to the judge. She told him how she knew her brother was a good man and described him as a hunter and gatherer.
“This is an historic thing that has come through generations and we can only do better and be better,” she said.
“These are repercussions of the past.”
In his sentencing, the judge told Wallace he acknowledged there was a lot of family tragedy in his life and he was remorseful.
“If it wasn’t for the six cans of Cody’s this might not have happened.”
Driver sentenced
TE KŪITI man Mayerick Kingi Wirepa pleaded guilty to careless driving, being an unlicensed driver failing to comply and refusing a medical officer’s request for blood.
Wirepa was forbidden to drive in July, but three days later crashed his car on SH4 in Ohakune on a wet road. He went through a farm fence and injured his leg. When taken to hospital he refused a blood sample, according to the summary of facts read in court.
Judge Greig convicted and disqualified Wirepa from driving for seven months and fined him $600.
Fresh start hoped
JUDGE Greig’s sentencing of Michael Riwhi Fred Martin was designed so when he finishes his 16-month prison sentence for driving while disqualified, he won’t have any further disqualifications or community work hours hanging over his head.
Martin was driving while disqualified in September last year when he failed to stop for police. The court heard he did a u-turn and drove off in the other direction, but wasn’t followed by police because they knew who he was. In November he swapped seats with his passenger when pulled over by police.This led to his 13th and 14th driving while disqualified convictions.
In January he breached the conditions of his intensive supervision sentence for his previous driving while disqualified conviction and failed to appear in court in May, which contributed to the judge’s sentencing.
Martin’s lawyer Gaye Gray told the judge he was doing what he could to reinstate his driver licence and described him as “proactive” when he was in the community, but had found himself in prison on separate offending.
“He was desperately wanting to get the right thing done,” Gray said.
The judge sentenced Martin to 16 months in prison and backdated a mandatory disqualification to October to ensure it was completed by the time he got out and allow him to get his licence back. Martin’s remaining 25.5 hours of community work were also cancelled.
“Opportunistic”
A PAIR jointly charged with unawfully getting into a motor vehicle have each been sentenced to 150 hours community work and ordered to pay a $300 emotional harm reparation after pleading guilty to the charges.
Police prosecutor Baden Hilton said Martin Paikera Walters and George France Heitia’s offending was born out of opportunity rather than premeditated. The car had been stickered as abandoned because its owner was in prison.
Final burglar sentenced
ALL burglars who were caught after terrorising an Aria family during a daylight burglary this year have now been sentenced.
In March a group of seven people wearing red bandanas and gang insignia, with one wielding a weapon, travelled to a farm on Ohura Rd to steal two motorbikes. Three were identified and charged by police.
Young Whakatane man Tyler Cousins was sentenced to six months community detention, one year supervision and ordered to pay reparations of $1892 for charges of burglary and possessing and offensive weapon.
His lawyer Joseph Hamblett said the basic motivation of the offending was to retrieve what Cousins believed to be his brother’s stolen motorcycle, “and it all went wrong.”
Two Honda motorbikes, neither of them belonging to Cousins’ brother, were hooked up to the two vehicles the group arrived in. Police found several weapons in the rear passenger seat of one vehicle including a knife, two axes, a knuckle duster and star knife.
The judge told Cousins what was preventing him from going to prison was the regret expressed in his pre-sentence report. He acknowledged Cousins did not have an easy childhood, but he now had a job he enjoyed and would keep despite his offending, a partner and child keeping him out of trouble.
The other two young men charged with Cousins were also from the Bay of Plenty and were sentenced in July.
Watene Williams Tawa was sentenced to four months community detention, one year supervision and ordered to pay reparations of $1892. Jason Tutauanui Tahai Williams received the same sentence, except the length of his community detention was longer at five months.
Revenge attack sentenced
A MAN who took an axe to the tyres, bonnet and windows of an ex-friend’s ute was sentenced in court last week.
Judge Grier told Michael George Macdonald he took revenge attacks seriously and said he was spurred on by the thought his former friend got him in trouble over some cannabis.
“I think this was a fairly calculated act. You’re not sorry for what you’ve done.”
Macdonald was sentenced to 12 months supervision, 200 hours community work and ordered to pay $1500 in reparations. The judge compensated for a remission of $6000 in fines by adding another 50 hours community work to the sentence.
“Complete meltdown” admitted
JUDGE Grieg listened to input from the public gallery when considering how to sentence Uriah Te Mauri Johansen for what he described as a “complete meltdown.”
Johansen was charged with assault on a person in a family relationship, two counts of common assault, driving dangerously, speaking threateningly, and driving while disqualified for an incident in July. He pleaded guilty last week.
“You got something mad in your head and went beserk,” the judge said.
Johansen pulled out one victim’s hair and followed after all three of his victims in a car when they escaped.
From his conversations with the public gallery, the judge accepted that one of the victims had forgiven him and wanted to move on.
“So I think I should not jump up and down on you too hard,” Judge Grieg said.
Johansen was sentenced to 12 months supervision and told to complete any programme directed by probation. He must make emotional harm reparations to the value of $250 to each of the victims with whom he was not in a family relationship.
For driving dangerously he was disqualified for six months and was convicted and discharged on the charge of speaking threateningly.
Warrant issued
THE judge ordered a warrant for the arrest of Kaydeng Sherwood-Boles, who failed to appear for his court date.