Violence "all to prevalent" in this community—judge

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 562, 15 November 1994, Page 11

Violence "all to prevalent" in this community—judge

The following cases were heard by Judge Richard Watson in the Ohakune District Court last Thursday. Police-sergeant Bob Evans of Ohakune appeared for the prosecution. violent community Henry Lewis Haitana, 34, unemployed of Raetihi, was sentenced to six months in prison when he appeared on a charge of assault using a weapon on 9 April Court heard how defendant had been asked to leave the Ruapehu Hotel in Raetihi after he had shown "abusi ve behaviour to wards both patrons and management" after an altercation took place about the volume of music when Haitana had put $20 into the jukebox. When told that he had been barred Haitana had poured a glass of beer over manager Trevor Dickson before throwing the glass at him striking him behind the right ear as he turned away. Judge Watson said he was not prepared to follow the milder sentence recommended by the probation service because this had been a "totally uncontrolled and unprovoked attack which was an example of the serious violence that was all too prevalent in this community. Judge Watson said he was obviously "dealing with a violent community" because there were no fewer than four assault charges to be heard that day. Counsel: Gary Johnson. "King hit" Dean Robert Kaire, 31, unemployed, was given a three month prison sentence when he appeared on a charge of assaulting Anthony T uhoro outside the Hot Lava Nightclub on 18 August. Court heard that the complainant had no recollection of the incident after recei ving a "King hit" when he tried to intervene in an argument between Kaire and another person inside the nightclub. The assault was serious enough to have the complainant admitted to the Wanganui Base Hospital where he was kept under observation for two days. In imposing sentence Judge Watson said this was just another example of the prevailing violence in this community and offenders could be expected to be dealt with severely in future. . Counsel: Gary Johnson. Remand to Palmerston North Francis Matangi, 37, part-time worker of Ohakune, appeared for sentence after being found guilty of assault on a female following a defended hearing last month (see Ruapehu Bulletin 25 October) . Judge Watson said that

on the evidence before him he would have sentenced Matangi to a term of imprisonment but, as he wasn' t the presiding judge at last month' s hearing, he considered it would be in defendant' s interest if the case was transferred to the Palmerston North District Court where sentence could be imposed by Judge Gregory Ross who had conducted the case in Ohakune. Matangi was remanded in custody to appear in the Palmerston North District Court on 15 November. Counsel: Gary Johnson. "Suspended warrant" Phillip Puhi Maniapoto, 44, sickness beneficiary of Ohakune, was to have appeared for sentence on two charges: one of common assault involving biting injuries to the complainant on 25 August and orte of resisting police following an incident at the Ohakune Hotel on that date. However, when Court heard from defence counsel Gary Johnson that his client was in hospital with pneumoma, Judge Watson said he was not prepared to let this case go on indefinitely and a warrant would be issued if Maniapoto failed to attend when he was discharged from hospital. Assault on female Douglas Neill Oakly, 3 1 , bush contractor of Raetihi, was remanded without plea to appear again in the Ohakune District Court on 15 December to answer a charge of assaulting Kylie Ann Wilson on 25 October. He was ordered not to associate with the complainant during the remand period. Counsel: Gary Johnson. Assault charge George Ashwood Pekamu, 27, unemployed of Ohakune, was remanded on bail without plea to appear in the Ohakune District Court on 1 5 December to answer a charge of assaulting Caroline Pui on 23 October. Counsel: Paul Brown. Santa Claus arrives early Adam Haitana, 28, sickness beneficiary of Wanganui, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to steal a television aerial valued at $85 from a dwelling house in Railway Road in Raetihi on 4 November. Court heard how defendant had first knocked on the door of the house at 1 .20am to ascertain if it was occupied and then, after receiving no answer, had climbed onto the roof and started to remove the aerial. The resulting noise woke the sleeping occupants who contacted the police.

Haitana' s explanation was that he had wanted to watch a rugby league match on television but didn' t have a suitable aerial. Judge Watson commented that had this happened in six weeks time the occupants of the house might have thought it was Santa trying to come down the chimney. Haitana was convicted and fined $250, court costs $95 and ordered to pay the fine in instalments at the rate of $10 per week. Remanded in custody Krishane Hiroti, 28, shearerof Raetihi, appeared on three charges involving cannabis and one charge of assault. On the charges of: possessing cannabis; possessing cannabis oil and; possessing a pipe and two knives for the commission of an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act (all on 20 October) he was remanded without plea to 15 December. On the assault charge which related to an incident in the Ruapehu Hotel in Raetihi on 21 October and where the complainant sustained a broken bone in the hand and required 14 stitches to his mouth, Hiroti was remanded in custody to appear in the Wanganui District Court on 22 November. Counsel: Gary Johnson. Deal bag under mattress Jason Andrew Delves, 31, cobblestone layer of Rangataua, pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing cannabis. Defendantdenied the prosecution evidence that he had attempted to conceal a deal bag under his mattress and had instead led the police to the bag when the house was raided at 7.30am on 20 October. Warrant for arrest Eric Rauhiri Martin, 19, . unemployed of Ohakune, was to have appeared on a charge of breaking and entering and to one charge of stealing but, when he failed to appear, a warrant for arrest was issued. The charge of breaking and entering a building related to the Waitaiki Workshop in Station Road, Karioi, while the charge of stealing related to a tandem-axled trailer valued at $1800 belonging to Stephen Paul Biggs. Both offences occurred on 17 October. Warrant issued Douglas David Speers, 23, bushman, was to have appeared on a wilfiil damage charge (details not known) but, when he failed to appear, Judge Watson was heard to remark: "I'm sorry ... I thought we were

getting some way with him" before he issued an arrest warrant. Admits to "minute amount" Andrea Leith McPhillips, 23, escort of Rangataua, pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a "minute amount" of cannabis on 20 October. Asked to define what she meant by a "minute amount" defendant said that it would have been "about half a cigarette ... it was so small that I had forgotten about it". She was convicted and fined $100, court costs $95. Careless use Nigel Ashley Ruki, 34, bushman of Raetihi, pleaded guilty to a charge of carelessly using a motor vehicle in Goldfinch Street, Ohakune, on 26 August. Court heard defendant 's evidence that he had parked his truck in neutral without applying the hand-brake and had rolled back into the car behind him. He was convicted and fined $200, court costs $95. Counsel: Gary Johnson. Faulty coupling connection Craig Collins, 22, crosscutter, formerly of Ohakune, was convicted of a careless dri ving charge on State Highway 49 at Karioi on 9 August when theempty horse-float he had been towing behind a truck had come adrift from its coupling and travelled for about 50 metres on the wrong side of the road before coming to a stop. The coupling had not been properly connected and secured but when defendant told the Court that he was only the driver and not the person who was supposed to have attached the horse-float trailer, Judge Watson imposed a fine of $200, court costs $95. Skiing out-of-bounds not guilty plea Alan Spence Joslin, 21, unemployed of Ohakune, pleaded not guilty to one charge of obtaining credit by fraud and to one charge of creating a criminal nuisance by skiing in a closed avalanche area on the Turoa Skifield on 3 October. He was remanded to appear for a defended hearing on 15 December. Counsel: Gary Johnson. Change of plea David Oldeman, 24, unemployed of Ohakune, changed his plea to guilty (from not guilty) when he appeared for what was to have been a defended hearing on a charge of failing to accompany a police-officer following a vehicular incident at the intersection of Rimu and Miro Streets in Ohakune on 1 October.

Defendant said that he had initially pleaded not guilty (at last month' s hearing) because he was upset at the damage to his car and didn't realise, at the time, that the police were entitled to take breath and blood samples from any occupant of a vehicle if they could determine who the driver had been when the incident occurred. Oldeman was discharged without conviction but ordered to pay $300 towards the cost of prosecution. Not guilty plea Stephen James Rundle, 26, unemployed of Ohakune, pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol in Miro Street, Ohakune, on 1 October. Rundle was allegedly the driver of a vehicle referred to in the previous case (above) involving David Oldeman. He was remanded to appear for a defended hearing on 15 December. Counsel: Paul Brown. Wilful damage David Ronald De LacyParkes, 37, truck-driver of Wellington, changed his plea to guilty when he appeared for what was to have been a defended hearing on charges of causing intentional damage to a Telecom telephone booth in Clyde Street, Ohakune, on 20 August and to assaulting a police constable on that date. Defendant changed his plea to guilty on the wilful

damage charge when the charge of assault on a police constable was dropped. Court heard from defence counsel, Paul Brown, about the great amount of stress his client was under and how, when he was unable to get through to his daughter on the public pay-phone, he had smashed the glass wall of the booth by striking it with the hand-piece. He was convicted and fined $100, court costs $95 and ordered to make reparation to Telecom at the rate of $50 per week. Counsel: Paul Brown. Conversion Dean Frank Henare, 28, unemployed of Putaruru, pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing a 1982 Holden Commodore valued at $14,500 belonging to Errol Sue of Ohakune, on 28 May . Court heard how Henare had removed the security lights from Mr Sue's house in Goldfinch Street before breaking into the vehicle and stealing it together with its contents. He was ordered to appear for sentence in the Otahuhu District Court in Auckland on 19 December after reparation reports (to cover a total of $16,000) have been completed locally in Ohakune. Counsel: Paul Brown. Acquitted Gene Henare, 21, unemployed of Mount Maunganui, was acquitted after a charge of attempting to convert a motor vehicle

on 16 December 1993 was dismissed following a defended hearing in Ohakune last Thursday. The prosecution produced three witnesses, the first being a Wellingtonbased Police fingerprinter whose written evidence about the identity of the defendant' s fingerprint was accepted by the Court and defence counsel. The second prosecution witness was Miss Gladys Goldfinch who said that she had found the white Holden Kingswood ute which she had left locked outside her office in Clyde Street, Ohakune, overnight, had been broken into and the contents of the glove-box disturbed when she returned to her vehicle the following morning. She also noted that the ignition had been tampered with and the steering damaged. She contacted the Ohakune police. Ohakune police-consta-ble Stuart Ngatai said that after speaking with Miss Goldfinch he had attempted to find fingerprints from all around the car but managed to find only one clear thumb-print directly above the handle on the driver' ssidedoor. He had sent this away to Wellington to be identified and it came back with Gene Henare' s name on it sometime after 11 March this year. When he interviewed TURNTOPAGE15