Nunchucks? No worries
A man has dodged jail time after a series of crimes in Wellington last year. The man was sentenced to three months of community detention with a night and weekend curfew in Masterton District Court on Wednesday.
Last year, he challenged people at a party to fight while brandishing a pair of wooden nunchucks and later assaulted his partner while trying to steal her iPad.
In a separate incident, he and an accomplice robbed a pedestrian in the middle of the night, stealing their headphones, laptop, glasses, wallet, and car keys. Only the wallet was returned, and a debit card was missing.
Judge Barbara Morris said that since his offending, the man has distanced himself from his criminal associates in Wellington and is working to turn his life around. “Because of all those changes, I don’t think the public needs to fear you’re going to rob them,” she said.
‘Polysubstance’ addict reformed
A man appeared in Masterton District Court on Wednesday facing charges of drug driving and threatening to kill his mother. Judge Barbara Morris disqualified him from driving for a year and sentenced him to 18 months of intensive supervision.
Late at night, the man had called 111 from his mother’s rural Wairarapa property and told the operator he would kill his mother and burn the house down. When emergency services arrived, they found he had poured petrol on himself and his mother was not at home.
Lawyer Fionnuala Kelly said her client’s offending stemmed from “polysubstance addiction issues,” but he is now sober after spending the past four months in jail. A letter in which the man apologised for his actions and expressed a desire to leave drugs and crime behind was read to the court. Judge Morris said getting sober in jail had been a “gift” for him. “This sentence will help you never end up in custody or relapse into taking drugs again,” she said.
