A man left with a brain injury after a 2007 crash which killed his drink-driving brother has now caused a death himself when he drove through a red light while blinded by the sun.

Tewi Tunoa David Lawson, 40, was sentenced after admitting careless driving causing death for a crash on November 6, 2017, when he collided with moped rider Vincent Salomon.

Mr Salomon, a French resident and father of two young girls, received a severe brain injury and died in hospital two weeks later, after his parents had flown from France to see him.

His widow, Penny Claridge, delivered an impressive victim impact statement at Lawson’s sentencing in the Christchurch District Court, ending by saying she harboured no bitterness. “It won’t change anything and it won’t bring him back,” she said.

She hoped that Lawson would not be in a position to do this again and received a lengthy loss of his licence. She described Mr Salomon as “my beautiful, gentle friend”, and said: “I just can’t imagine life without him.”

A 15-month disqualification was imposed by Judge David Saunders but the court was also told that Lawson was to sell his car and may never seek to drive again.

His lawyer, Steve Hembrow, said that would leave him severely limited because the continuing effects of Lawson’s own brain injury affected his balance and left him unable to ride a bicycle.

At 1am on August 12, 2007, Kaiapoi labourer Murray James Ferguson – a 46-year-old driving with nearly four times the legal blood-alcohol limit – ran a stop sign in Hornby. He was hit by a four-wheel-drive, with Ferguson dying at the scene from internal injuries and his brother, Lawson, suffering serious head injuries. Lawson was the front seat passenger.

Lawson works and and receives ACC top-ups. He was driving home from work when he says he was momentarily blinded by the sun and missed seeing the red light at the corner of Selwyn and Brougham streets. Five seconds after the light turned red, he drove through it and collided with Mr Salomon on his moped.

On behalf of Mr Salomon’s family, Anna Gilbert read a statement describing the loss. She said Lawson’s careless and irresponsible behaviour had made him “responsible for the destruction of two families”. She said: “We hope this will weigh on your conscience for the rest of your life.”

Mr Hembrow said Lawson was deeply upset by what had happened and apologised unreservedly to the families.

Judge David Saunders urged drivers generally to be more careful. It was everybody’s duty to try to observe all the rules. “They are not just suggestions,” he said.

Lawson’s error of judgment had had serious and severe consequences, with a huge impact on the life and happiness of his family, said the judge.

He imposed 200 hours of community work, 15 months of disqualification, and an emotional harm payment of $7500 which will cover some of the victim’s families’ costs, including flying the parents to New Zealand. Part of the reparations will come from the sale of Lawson’s car.

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A 20-year-old woman who was brandishing a kitchen knife when she chased three people for 200m along a Burwood street, told police that she wanted to kill them.

Sarah Leigh Storer, a cleaner, pleaded guilty in the Christchurch District Court to three charges of threatening to cause grievous bodily harm, as well as wilful damage and drink-driving.

Judge Tom Gilbert remanded her on bail for sentencing on July 4. He asked for a pre-sentence report to consider her suitability for home or community detention, and a possible restorative justice meeting with the three victims where she would have a chance to apologise.

Police prosecutor Steve Burdes said the incident happened late on December 29 when the group were all drinking at one of the victims’ homes in Parnwell Street, Burwood.

A dispute arose when Storer left the house for a short time, and the house’s door was locked to prevent her coming back.

She banged on the door, but was told to leave several times. She climbed through an open window at the back and was then told to leave again and the police were called.

She did leave and the others all waited outside the house for the police to arrive.

Storer then came back, went inside the house and came back outside with a large kitchen knife. She was holding it above her head with the blade downwards as she ran at the victims.

She chased them up to 200m along the street. All three feared she was going to stab them, Mr Burdes said.

She was still holding the knife when the police arrived. Mr Burdes said: “At first she stated she only wanted to talk to the victims, but later admitted to wanting to kill the victims.”

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File image. © Andrew Bardwell

A gang bashing in Christchurch Men’s Prison only involved one gang – and the victim declined to make a complaint and refused medical treatment.

However, the January 16 fracas in the exercise area at the prison’s Rawhiti wing was all caught on security video and the police laid charges.

Defence counsel Alister James, acting for one of those involved, told the Christchurch District Court: “They all belong to the same gang, including the victim.”

The hearing at which four men pleaded guilty to charges of assault with intent to injure, was not told the name of the gang involved.

The four were all remanded in custody for sentencing on June 28. Judge Alistair Garland asked for pre-sentence reports and referred the case for a possible restorative justice meeting.

Such a meeting – if it could take place – would involve gang members getting together to offer apologies.

Resham Toa Blake-Faatafa, 22, of Milburn in Otago, Joseph Regan Andy Epiha, 30, of Invercargill, Riapo Piripi Tipene, 21, also of Milburn, and Charles John Tawha, 24, of no fixed abode in Christchurch, all pleaded guilty.

They are all serving prisoners. Judge Garland noted that Epiha was already serving a term for serious violence.

Police said the men were in the exercise yard at 1.40pm when there was an altercation in the shower area of the yard. The victim crawled away underneath a shower screen and moved to the other side of the yard.

Blake-Fataafa went over and punched the victim several times and then the others joined in, punching, kneeing, and kicking the victim for 25 seconds until he collapsed to the ground. The attackers then walked away.

Police said the victim declined to make a complaint or discuss the incident with Corrections staff or the police. He also refused medical treatment.

A fifth man has also been charged with the assault. He appeared by video-link from Auckland Prison, and was remanded to April 19 without plea.

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A second woman who has admitted her role in an organised criminal group accused of burgling 110 homes has been told to be prepared for a prison term.

Elise Van Dam, 27, pleaded guilty to participating in the group, 10 charges of burglary, two charges of dishonestly using a document, possession of a pipe, and theft of a car.

The homes were burgled in Christchurch, Rangiora, and Kaiapoi during July 2017.

Police allege that the group traded significant amounts of the stolen property between each other and to other people. They also offered televisions, power tools, bikes, IPads, firearms, gold, and jewellery for sale.

On July 2 Van Dam and two alleged co-offenders broke into a house in Esher Place, St Martins, and took a laptop and camera, and a bankcard.

Later that day the bankcard was used at the Z Service Station on Brougham Street, and then at another Z Service Station on Ferry Road.

In the evening on that day another house was burgled in Vernon Terrace, Heathcote, and personal items including a laptop, camera, clothing, and a car were stolen. The car was later found on Avoca Valley Road where it had been set alight.

On the afternoon of July 4, Van Dam sat in a car while alleged co-offenders broke into a house in Fifield Terrace, Waltham. The alarms went off and everyone left without taking property, then she sat in the car again at another address in Flinders Road, Heathcote, where an iPad and a socket set were taken.

Another attempt at burglary in Major Hornbrook Road was stopped by the owner of the property.

Van Dam entered The Warehouse in South City on July 5, and used a stolen card to buy a mobile cell phone.

Cell phone data showed Van Dam was in the vicinity of a car which was taken with a large amount of work tools in it, in Rowses Road Rangiora on July 9.

On July 10, Van Dam sat in the car while a property was burgled in Gardiners Road, where a television and two laptops were taken. The offenders ransacked the house, and then took a car and drove off in it.

On July 13 a house in Whincops Road, Halswell was burgled, with a television, watched, DVD player, and personal items being taken. An SKB shotgun and ammunition were also stolen.

Two more burglaries occurred on July 15, in Horseshoe Lake Road, and Magnolia Boulevard in Kaiapoi.

Text messages from Van Dam told the alleged burglars that the neighbours were watching at the Kaiapoi  address.

On September 7, Van Dam was at the Christchurch Central Police station where they found a methamphetamine pipe in her handbag.

In Christchurch District Court, defence counsel Allister Davis said Van Dam had stopped taking methamphetamine, and had cleaned herself up.

Judge Jane Farish remanded Van Dam on bail for sentencing on July 18, and told her to be prepared that day because she would be sentenced to prison.

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Life is feeling more positive – and golf is providing an outlet – for a teenager who once planned to commit a terrorist style attack in Christchurch.

The youth spoke for the first time during his hearings when he addressed the judge at the Christchurch District Court today, where he had come along for a judicial monitoring session.

Last year, the youth planned to ram a car into a group of people and then stab them until the police killed him. He went through with a threatening a violent incident but “decided not to hurt anybody because he did not have the means to kill enough people”.

Nine months ago he had been radicalised online and planned a terrorist attack “for Allah”.

Today, Judge Stephen O’Driscoll was asking him about his handicap after hearing that he had been allowed to try the sport under his two-year supervision sentence since his sentencing on weapon, threats, and damage charges in February.

Judges can choose to monitor people doing sentences and get regular reports. Community Corrections is supervising the teenager while he lives in supported accommodation.

Today, the 18-year old, who has name suppression, asked if he could read a statement he had written for the judge. Permission was granted and he then stood and began reading, hesitantly at first but growing in confidence. He said:

“To Judge O’Driscoll: Thank you for allowing me to continue my community based sentence. Since I have seen you last there have been many positive changes in my behaviour, actions, and problem solving. I have been getting positive feedback from staff.

“Positive goals I have been working on include correspondence, life skills, history courses, and counselling. I have been attending all my counselling sessions.

“I am participating in household activities. My favourite activity is golf. I am completing household chores. I have also been doing my chores without staff having to ask me to do them.

“I have been attending visits at the mosque and have been discussing religious viewpoints. I have been working on strategies to help me deal with the problems I face in life. When I am anxious, I discuss how I am feeling with staff and get support. I am also learning to respect other people and their opinions.

“My future goal is to become more independent and to be back with my mum and to complete my sentence.

“Things I find hard at times are boredom, cooking, meal plan groups, and dealing with other residents.

I feel much better in myself and feel more positive about life in general.

“I still have things to work on but I am getting there slowly with the help of the [residence – suppressed]

Community Corrections told the judge they were very pleased with his progress.

Judge O’Driscoll said they had had a special monitoring meeting on March 28.

He said, “I am very pleased with what I have read in the reports that have been provided to me saying you are making progress and there has been a marked improvement in your attitude and your general outlook on life. The report says you are contributing in a positive manner.”

The youth had now been to a fourth treatment session with a departmental psychologist, who reported he is now more open and engaged. No variations in his conditions of supervision were suggested.

“I know it would not have been easy for you to have written this and what you have said to me,” said Judge O’Driscoll. “You have been very honest and open with what you have said and I have been very pleased with the progress that’s been made. It is the first time I have heard you speak.”

He remanded the case for another monitoring session on May 15.

He said, “I would like you to be able to talk to me again about what has happened in those four weeks. Hopefully you would tell me about progress you have made.”

The youth seemed confused when Judge O’Driscoll asked him about his handicap, while defence counsel Anselm Williams tried to explain it to him.

The youth replied, “Yeah, I hit it far.”

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“I hate you and I hope you burn in hell,” a sex abuse victim told former CYFS caregiver Rex Lawrence Wilson before the 64-year-old was jailed for 12 years.

Wilson’s two victims – he was found guilty at an eight day Christchurch District Court jury trial in January – both read emotional victim impact reports at his sentencing.

Judge Paul Kellar said the two women, now in their 20s, had been done “incalculable harm” over six years of his offending. “I was singularly impressed with both of them during the course of the trial, and even more so today.”

He said the offending was “about as serious as it gets.”

A jury had found Wilson guilty of 15 charges: two charges of rape, 12 of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, and indecent assault on a child aged under 12. The Crown case detailed oral sex, touching, digital penetration, and full sexual intercourse.

One complainant said she refused to be a cowering “rape victim” and asked how Wilson felt now that he was a “victim” himself, of the criminal justice system. She said she saw no remorse or shame from him.

After his offending which ended when she was aged 13, she had turned to drugs, alcohol, and self-harm, and she had tried to kill herself more than once. She was now a mother.

The other complainant, also now a mother, told of turning to drugs and alcohol to try to block out what he had done. “You ruined my life,” she told him, but now said she had an amazing partner and beautiful children.

She said she hoped that what she had done in reporting Wilson to the police would inspire other victims to speak up and be heard.

“I have no idea when the nightmares will stop and the depression will go away,” she said.

At the end of her statement, she abused Wilson across the court room, telling him: “I hate you and hope you burn in hell.”

Defence counsel Andrew McKenzie said Wilson faced a long jail term, at an advanced age, and he would not be released until he no longer posed a risk. “He will have to move a long way from his stance now, for that to be no longer the case.”

He told the court that Wilson planned to appeal the convictions.

Judge Kellar made an allowance for Wilson having no other relevant convictions, and for his age, which reduced his sentence by four years, to 12 years. He imposed no non-parole term, but said the likelihood was that Wilson would not be eligible for parole unless he showed some significant remorse.

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File image. © Andrew Bardwell

A businessman who admitted 44 charges is now bankrupt and cannot pay any of the $1.5 million of unpaid tax his companies owed.

Libor Lasek, 47, has now begun a three-year four-month jail term after pleading guilty to the charges of failing to account for the deductions.

The defaults included PAYE tax deductions, KiwiSaver employee deductions and contributions, student loan employer deductions, child support employer deductions, and employer superannuation contributions.

He admitted aiding and abetting Libor Interiors Ltd, Libor Living Ltd, Libor Ltd, and L Group Ltd in not paying the funds to Inland Revenue.

The businesses provided building and joinery services in the Christchurch construction industry, and were placed in liquidation in 2015 owing over $2 million. The offending took place from 2013 to 2015.

Defence counsel James Rapley told Christchurch District Court Judge Stephen O’Driscoll that Lasek had problems with his businesses, which led to cash flow problems. He had not been able to cope with the pressures of having all the staff, and had paid other creditors first.

Judge O’Driscoll said he took into account the extent of the offending and the amount of the loss, the length of time involved in the offending, the breach of trust, and the premeditation.

“I take into account that there was continued offending after the Commissioner of Inland Revenue had given you a warning,” said the judge.

“You really now have no ability to mitigate the losses,” said the judge, noting that Lasek was now bankrupt and had no assets, no income, and no savings.

Lasek said at his pre-sentence interview with probation that his focus was to use his time in prison to stay in contact with his family.

Judge O’Driscoll said he would not lecture Lasek about what he had done wrong, and the need to comply with the tax legislation “because everyone knows what their obligations are”.

He made no reparation order.

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One of sex offender Brent William Charlton’s treatment sessions had to be stopped when he incorporated the female psychologist into a sadistic fantasy.

Another treatment course was halted because of his “escalating sexual arousal” during the session, the High Court was told before the 43-year-old was today sent to prison indefinitely.

Justice Rachel Dunningham said she believed Charlton’s “sense of entitlement to sexual gratification would not change” and he was likely to offend again. He was seen as a high risk.

She considered whether she could impose a finite jail term of 16 years with a non-parole term, but decided it would not adequately protect the community.

Instead, she imposed an indefinite term of preventive detention. Charlton cannot be considered for release for at least eight years, and then he will not be released until it is decided he does not pose a risk.

She told the prisoner, who stood with his wrists chained to his belt: “You appear fixated on obtaining sexual gratification on any opportunity that is afforded to you.”

Charlton had admitted offending against three victims – two women and a man – spread over a 14-year period from 2000. He admitted a charge of rape, and four of unlawful sexual connection, including two representative charges which indicated offending on more than one occasion.

All three victims reported anal rapes.

Crown prosecutor Barnaby Hawes said the offending included violence that went well beyond what was inherent in such charges. The effects had been devastating for the victims.

Defence counsel Craig Ruane acknowledged that although Charlton had no previous sex offences on his record, he was highly unlikely to be paroled “without some extraordinary change in attitude”.

The victims reported suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts. One had to move house – with a mortgagee sale – because she could not bear to be in the house where the offending occurred any longer. The male victim spoke of nightmares and depression.

Justice Dunningham said Charlton had 100 previous convictions including violence and breaches of protection orders. Her sentencing remarks included:

• Charlton had been diagnosed with psychopathy, which raised his risk status. On balance, he was seen as being a high risk of future sexual offending.
• He had expressed no remorse. He said he enjoyed the fear and control he was able to exert over his victims.
• He saw his future in custody and a psychologist wondered if he was exaggerating his comments to ensure this happened. This also meant prison was not a deterrent.
• Treatment courses in 2001 and 2009 had been discontinued because of his ambivalence or his failure to attend. In 2012, the course ended when he was recalled to prison. Discussions on a safety plan in 2014 were ended when he became concerned about likely boredom.
• Another treatment session ended because of his “escalating sexual arousal”, and another programme was terminated when he incorporated the woman psychologist into a sadistic fantasy.

A psychologist told the court: “Treatment has resulted in no behavioural change or skill acquisition.”

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An inference could be drawn that Sainey Marong’s murderous plans were related to his unhealthy desire for necrophilia, the Crown said as the 33-year-old faced his sentencing in the High Court.

The jury rejected Marong’s claim of mental illness at his trial in February and found him guilty of the murder of 22-year-old sex worker Renee Duckmanton after less than an hour of deliberations.

Justice Cameron Mander today described the murder as “particularly callous and cruel” before he jailed Marong for life with a minimum non-parole term of 18 years.

Family of the victim shouted abuse at Marong as he was led away, and one man tried to rush the dock but was stopped.

Marong told the trial that he had strangled Miss Duckmanton in his car after they had sex, when there was a dispute about where to go next.

Her burning body was found on a roadside near Rakaia the next day.

Crown prosecutor Pip Currie pointed to the Ilam butcher’s planning and his internet searches about murder, kidnapping, and necrophilia before his murder of the 22-year-old sex worker, Renee Duckmanton, on May 14, 2016.

She told Justice Cameron Mander that Marong had conducted detailed and determined searches about how to kill someone, and about his “unhealthy and unpleasant” interest in necrophilia.

Mrs Currie said: “The intention to kill was directly related to this unhealthy desire for necrophilia. There are no charges but it is clear that sexual activity took place.”

“It would appear the inference to be drawn is that the defendant killed Renee to carry out a sexual fantasy or desire. It is a clear inference from the fixation on necrophilia that this is what he was interested in,” she said.

Justice Mander said: “There is a lingering question of whether sexual intercourse took place before or after the murder. The Crown acknowledges that because it cannot prove that aspect, it must be put to one side.”

He said it had been a callous and cruel murder. His premeditation involved deliberate strangulation to leave the victim’s body intact for his “depraved motivation to kill”.

His depraved aim was to kill a sex worker to fulfil some sexual ambition, said the judge.

Miss Duckmanton’s family members demanded that Sainey Marong look at them during his sentencing and told him: “We will be forever haunted by the way she died.”

Miss Duckmanton’s mother, Tracy Duckmanton, read a victim impact statement and told him she hoped he would “rot in hell”. She described Renee as “beautiful, goofy, bubbly, loving, sweet, trusting, and naïve.” She had suffered cerebral palsy at birth which made her vulnerable physically and emotionally as she grew up.

Her death had “devastated my life and my family’s life”, she said. “Nothing will ever be the same.”

Renee’s grandmother, Patricia Duckmanton, said her granddaughter had been “precious to so many people”. Despite the pain, they had fond memories of her. To her nieces and nephews “she was their funny, young, goofy auntie”.

Family members remarked that Marong showed no remorse and demanded that he look at them as they read victim impact statements.

Renee’s father, Brent McGrath, acknowledged the dedication of the police in getting justice for his daughter, and he recognised the jury’s work during the difficult court process. The family was left with “wonderful memories” of Renee, but he told Marong they were now “leaving you behind”.

Defence counsel Jonathan Krebs repeated the defence at the trial that Marong’s actions needed to be seen through the lens of mental illness. “He accepted he caused the death, but he did so at a time when he was insane. The jury plainly rejected that.”

He pointed to evidence that Marong had not been taking his insulin for his diabetes for three or four weeks, and a doctor’s evidence was that hypoglycaemia could have an effect on the mind. Marong’s internet searches had been becoming more and more bizarre over that time.

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Memo Christchurch offenders: Failing to take your court dates seriously is likely to buy you time in the cells.

Christchurch judges have moved to stop some of the “churn” that is stopping cases moving quickly through the criminal justice system.

Christchurch District Court Judge Alistair Garland today announced that the old arrangement where people could make voluntary appearances at court was “no longer in vogue”.

Local judges had discussed the problem of people simply not turning up for their court appearances, and had decided that the system of voluntary appearances would be stopped.

Under that more lenient system, people who turned up at court when it suited them, after an earlier failure when an arrest warrant was issued, were simply given a new appearance date by staff.

They would then probably turn up on the new date and the case would be on the move through the system again.

Judge Garland announced in the main list court today that the judges had told staff they were no longer to give people dates for “voluntary appearances”.

When people turned themselves in by fronting up at the court counters, the warrant was to be executed. That effectively means being arrested on the spot and delivered to a judge in court as soon as possible.

That will often mean a wait in the cells, and if the person comes in late in the day it will probably mean spending overnight in custody before re-release on bail can be considered.

Defendants failing to turn up at court is one of many reasons why cases often don’t progress quickly.

In other cases, court-ordered reports might not be ready in time, or checks on bail addresses might have to be done, or legal aid might only just have been arranged and assigned, or there may have been a muddle of dates of times by lawyers or defendants. Issues with police providing the defence with paperwork on cases sometimes cause delays.

When warrants are issued for non-appearance, the defendants sometimes receive a visit from the police and are brought to court, or the warrants wait until the next time they come in contact with the authorities. While the warrant is waiting in the system, people have previously been able to make voluntary appearances.

The case prompting today’s announcement involved an 18-year-old who was due to be sentenced in February on charges of being disguised for a burglary and possession of equipment for using cannabis.

Judge Garland was surprised to see the man walking into the dock from the public seating, to make a voluntary appearance, after the judges had told staff to stop using that arrangement.

From now on, he will be expecting to see people being brought in from the cells, or appearing on screen from the cells in such cases.

The judge considered the bail arrangements after hearing that the teenager had failed to appear at court twice while the case was working through the system. Defence counsel Rachel Wood explained that the teenager had been caring for his mother, who was ill with cancer, and had been at Dunedin hospital with her where she was undergoing surgery at the time of his last scheduled appearance.

Judge Garland eventually granted bail and remanded the youth for sentencing on July 18.

Miss Wood said a pre-sentence report had already been prepared and recommended supervision, but Judge Garland increased the pressure by ordering a new report to assess the youth’s suitability for community or home detention.

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A man charged with the murder of a woman in Merivale last month is also facing charges of sexually violating her and taking her car.

The name of the alleged victim, Nicole Marie Tuxford, can now be reported after the suppression order on her name was lifted today, at the request of her family.

The Crown also did not seek to continue suppression of two charges the man also faces – sexual violation of the woman and unlawfully taking her car – and Justice Gerald did not renew those orders in a decision which included a long list of suppression orders.

The suppression on those two charges was imposed at the man’s first appearance in the Christchurch District Court two days after the alleged murder.

The date of May 6, 2019, was set for the man’s trial by Justice Nation at a pre-trial call-over in the High Court at Christchurch today.

The 54-year-old Aranui man denies murdering the 27-year-old woman and the charge of aggravated burglary in which he is accused of using a knife as a weapon when he allegedly burgled a house in Exeter Street, Merivale.

The woman was found dead at a house in Exeter Street and the police were called at 11.40am on the day of the alleged murder.

The nature of the suppression orders cannot be reported, but they include the man’s name.

After the trial date was set, Justice Nation remanded the case for another pre-trial call-over on June 29.

Ruth Buddicom and Linda Drummond appeared as defence counsel; Pip Currie as Crown prosecutor.

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A man charged with participating in an organised criminal group involved in burglaries, thefts, and fraud has admitted 23 charges in the Christchurch District Court.

Alexander James McCormick, 27, burgled properties across Christchurch in June and July 2017, and was caught by police in a motel unit in Ferry Road with a large amount of the stolen property.

The recovered property included laptops, cameras, building tools, and clothing, and more of it was found at other addresses and in a stolen car. Bank cards taken were used at service stations and retail outlets.

Two women have already pleaded guilty to being in the criminal group, Mere Aroha Morgan, 26, and Elise Van Dam, 27, and all three will be sentenced on July 18.

Three more men have pleaded not guilty to the charges, and are going through the Christchurch Court system separately.

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A 24-year-old security guard has been sentenced to 18 weeks’ home detention and reparations for trying to bring four lizards into New Zealand from Thailand.

Two live and two dead lizards were found in Duncan Keith Absolum’s suitcase in a shoe and an umbrella, when it went missing on the flight, and was eventually delivered to Christchurch.

Absolum was charged with knowingly making a false declaration on his arrival declaration card under the Biosecurity Act, and attempting to possess unauthorised goods.

Defence counsel, Chris Nolan, said Absolum deeply regretted his actions, but he liked the look of the lizards which he wanted to keep as pets, and not for financial gain.

Judge Gary McAskill said the two live lizards were euthanised as they were a bio-security risk and had mites on them.

He said the lizards suffered because of Absolum’s cruelty, and ignorance of the rules about bringing the lizards into New Zealand did not excuse the offending.

He sentenced him to the home detention sentence and reparation of $150 costs for euthanising the lizards.

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Repeat drink-driving mum Melanie Susan Trebilco will be allowed to keep her car, but she must undergo treatment and counselling for alcohol, grief, and trauma during a supervision sentence.

Forty-year-old Trebilco, of Hei Hei, was disqualified indefinitely and placed on supervision for 15 months by Christchurch Community Magistrate Leigh Langridge after admitting her second breath-alcohol charge.

Police had sought to confiscate her Honda Fit which she was driving on the day she was breath-tested at Rolleston with a level of 871mcg of alcohol to a litre of breath. The legal limit is 250mcg.

However, Trebilco filed an application to be allowed to keep the car because of the hardship its loss would cause to another family member – her daughter – and the community magistrate agreed.

Trebilco has a previous conviction for drink-driving from 2016 when she was caught with her two children aged three and nine in the backseat at a time when she had a reading of 1157mcg. She admitted that it was “just stupidity” that she was driving with the children.

Last time, she was warned by the same community magistrate that if she was back in court, the penalty would be far more severe.

She was caught again on March 2 this year, on Rolleston Drive, when she told the police she had been drinking wine with friends to celebrate her birthday.

Community Magistrate Langridge said at the Christchurch District Court sentencing that it was clear that Trebilco was “struggling with alcohol”. It also seemed there were underlying issues, and she may be using alcohol to “numb or stop the panic”.

She disqualified Trebilco from driving indefinitely – she will not be able to get her licence back for at least a year, when the Land Transport Authority agrees, and she will be on supervision with special conditions for 15 months.

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A honeymooning tourist who caused electrical havoc with a car crash on the West Coast has avoided a conviction and has returned overseas while paying only a tiny fraction of the potential $257,500 damage bill.

Nikhil Sahai – an Indian national – has returned to his home and work in Singapore.

He was allowed to leave New Zealand while he faced a charge of careless driving in a 2017 BMW rental car.

The charge was meant to be called at a sentencing session in the Christchurch District Court which Sahai was not expected to attend. The hearing was meant to settle the reparation figure.

Sahai’s rental left the road at Te Taho, near Whataroa, and crashed into a power-pole. It brought down lines and caused a power surge which was believed to blow out household appliances across the district, and damaged electrical systems in shearing sheds.

Westpower wanted $57,500 for the damage in the crash, but the cost of damage from the surge may cost insurers a further $200,000.

However, in the meantime, defence counsel Grant Tyrrell and the police agreed that it was a case where diversion could be granted under the scheme that lets first offenders off without a conviction if agreed conditions are met.

Mr Tyrrell told Judge Tom Gilbert that the sole condition had been met – an agreed payment understood to be $1000 which will be sent on to the power company.

Judge Gilbert then ordered that the charge be dismissed, to complete the diversion arrangement.

However, it may not be the end of the matter. The reparation payment does not bar the insurers from seeking more money through civil action.

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An innocent householder was left bound, broken, and bloodied when a methamphetamine robber got the address wrong.The householder says the doctors consider it may take years for him to recover from the trauma of the January 19 raid by 48-year-old Ihaka John Timu.

In his victim impact statement, he also described how the raid had upset his neighbour’s six-year-old son who found him covered in blood after he had freed himself from his bonds and struggled to the entranceway where he collapsed.

Christchurch District Court Judge Alistair Garland jailed Timu for seven years six months at his sentencing on charges of armed burglary and injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He ordered that Timu must serve at least three years eight months before he can be considered for parole.

Timu says he is keen for rehabilitation and for psychological treatment to try to understand why he keeps offending. His criminal list dates back as far as 1986 with 59 previous convictions, including two for injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, two aggravated assaults, assault with intent to injure, seven for burglary, and 22 for dishonesty. He has two convictions for using a firearm against a police officer.

The Crown said he had left the scene of the robbery – having found only some cannabis after raiding the wrong address – leaving the householder tied up on the floor, and with broken wrists and eye sockets.

Prosecutor Sophia Beckett Young said it was accepted that after he was picked up for other offending a few days later, Timu admitted he had carried out the raid at a time when the police had no suspects.

Defence counsel Nicola Hansen said Timu’s pre-sentence report referred to mental health issues that would need “on-going help”. She said Timu had felt “overwhelming remorse” afterwards when he admitted the offence to police.

Judge Garland said Timu went to the address in Cuffs Road, Aranui, about 7pm on January 19, after being told there was methamphetamine and cash there. However, he made a mistake about the address he went to.

He picked up some pipe pliers he found at a neighbouring property and then watched the victim go out to the garage before he entered through the open front door.

When the victim came back in, Timu hit him over the head with the pliers, and continued to assault him as he lay on the floor. He dragged him to the kitchen where he smashed him around the head with a glass baking dish, and choked him a carotid hold until he nearly blacked out.

He repeatedly demanded to know where the “crack” and the cash were. The victim told him about some cannabis in the garage, to stop the beating.

Timu bound the man’s hands and feet with plastic binding tape and electrical cord from a fan. He then went out and got the cannabis before pouring bleach around the house and over the victim and leaving.

The man eventually got free and attracted help before he was taken away and hospitalised for operations and treatment to repair two broken eye sockets, a broken nose, two broken wrists, and deep cuts to his face and arms. He faces continuing treatment.

Timu declined to take part in a full pre-sentence interview, but he is assessed as being a high risk of causing harm to others.

Judge Garland increased the jail term for Timu’s record of violent offending, but reduced it for his guilty plea and his early acknowledgement to police that he was the home invader.

He also took into account the effects on the victim who has had to shift out of his home, leave the city, and give up a job he had enjoyed. The victim was present for Timu’s sentencing, but declined to make any comment afterwards.

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Court suppressions have been clamped on allegations of deceptions in wine industry export applications.

Neither the name of an export director charged, nor the names of the six wine producers listed in the charges can be published.

The suppressions granted by Judge Tony Couch will be considered again at a hearing on August 9.

The prosecution came before the Christchurch District Court today, with 18 charges laid by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

The charges allege that the director of the wine export company either procured or incited false wine export applications. In each charge, a few cases of specific wine brands are referred to.

The wine brands are from vineyards in many parts of New Zealand, but most are from the South Island.

The prosecutor for the Ministry, Grant Fletcher, said the charges alleged deceptions about wine exports through electronic applications made to meet overseas markets’ import requirements.

It involved exporting sample cases to a European market, which would enable a large volume of the product to go into the market.

“This is the first prosecution of an allegation of this type,” said Mr Fletcher. “There is a great deal of public interest in it. It will have consequences for the wine industry at large.”

Judge Couch said it was “not quite a test case, but it is a case that is going to be thoroughly examined”.

The company director does not live in Christchurch and was not at the hearing, but legal representation had been arranged.

Judge Couch said he would grant the interim suppressions being sought but the application would have to be fully argued at the next appearance which is scheduled for Christchurch on August 9.

Mr Fletcher said the Ministry did not oppose the suppression but its position might change as the case developed.

The name of the director is suppressed as well as the business’ name and the wine producers referred to in the charges.

“A proper application, with evidence, will be required for the orders to be continued,” said Judge Couch.

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A West Coast man has admitted the shooting murder of a woman in Greymouth on October 22, at an unexpected appearance in the High Court at Christchurch.

George Sean Warren, 45, pleaded guilty to the murder of the 43-year-old woman, whose name remains suppressed.

Justice Gerald Nation remanded Warren in custody for sentencing in Greymouth on June 8.

He asked for a pre-sentence report on Warren and a victim impact statement from the woman’s family.

No family members or supporters were present in court to hear Warren admit the charge at an arraignment hearing where Justice Nation granted permission for him to vacate his previous not guilty plea.

Two other men still face charges of concealing evidence of the murder. To protect fair trial rights, Justice Nation suppressed the Crown’s summary of facts. He said it would be read out in court at the sentencing.

According to reports at the time, the incident took place at a Greymouth house just after 4pm on October 22, when witnesses said they heard a loud bang before a car sped away.

After the victim’s body was found, police began a day-long manhunt for Warren who was caught “peacefully” about 3pm the next day when police said they found him on Old Christchurch Road, near Arahura Marae, just north of Hokitika.

The police said public sightings had helped to locate Warren.

Police said the victim’s children were present at the time of the shooting.

Warren was granted interim name suppression when he appeared in the Greymouth District Court in October, but the order lapsed when he appeared in the High Court in Christchurch on November 10 and entered his not guilty plea.

The case has been going through pre-trial sessions since then and was heading for a session on June 1 when the Crown was going to argue that the cases against all three men should be joined into one trial.

That session may still go ahead, but without Warren who will be sentenced a week later.

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Blackmail by two alleged victims of child sex abuse has surfaced at a trial where a West Coast man faces 24 charges.

The 45-year-old man denies the charges and the defence will say that all the allegations of sexual abuse over eight years are all lies, according to the prosecution.

But the Crown told the Christchurch District Court jury that under New Zealand law, it was still blackmail if the allegations were true and it has gone ahead with the trial seven years after the complaints came to light.

In the meantime, the two women who carried out the $25,000 blackmail and signed a “confidentiality agreement”, have been dealt with by the courts after admitting those charges. They are now being called to give evidence at the man’s child sex abuse trial.

Christchurch District Court Judge Brian Callaghan told the jury as the trial began that it was expected to take three weeks, with three complainants giving evidence among the 16 Crown witnesses.

The alleged victims are now women in their 20s. They were aged between seven and 16 years when the Crown says the offending occurred at several West Coast locations and in Christchurch.

The women’s names are suppressed, and the man has interim suppression.

He denies six charges of rape and one of attempted rape, seven of indecent assault, seven of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, one of attempted unlawful sexual connection, and two of inducing girls to do an indecent act.

The blackmail allegation surfaced even before Crown prosecutor Karyn South made her opening address to the jury, when the trial judge raised the issue in his introductory remarks.

He said the trial would be told that two of the complainants blackmailed the man over what they said he had done to them years before, and he had paid $15,000 into one of their bank accounts, and $10,000 into the other.

“The Crown says these payments can be taken into account as a factor in deciding whether or not all of the charges are proved, “ said Judge Callaghan. “The defence says this is not the case and the payment is equivocal evidence that could relate to payments to avoid the consequences of false allegations.”

The defence said it was “perfectly plausible” for a person to pay to avoid unwelcome or unpleasant consequences, he said.

He told the jury it must assess the allegations, and if it could not make up its mind about the blackmail, it must set that aside and not take it into account in deciding its verdicts.

Miss South said that when the women were teenagers they had bought a cellphone and texted threats to make the allegations against the man unless they were paid. They signed a confidentiality agreement which said that everything would be “forgotten and put behind us”.

The allegations emerged when someone inquired about a payment into one of their bank accounts, and Miss South said one of the woman was then quite up front about the blackmail when she was interviewed by the police.

The man had not signed the confidentiality agreement but it was found at his address. Until the payments were discovered, he had not made a blackmail complaint.

The prosecutor said the man said the sex offending never happened, and he had only made the deposits because of the false allegations of abuse.

Defence counsel Pip Hall QC said the defence was that the sex offending did not occur. There had been collusion, and the complainants had come to believe that things happened which did not happen. Memories had been distorted by a combination of factors, including the passage of time.

“Regrettably, the complainants have imagined, exaggerated, misinterpreted, invented, or had implanted in their minds, events which they believe happened many years ago,” he said. These were “wrong memories” about sexual offending which had not occurred.

He said the jury would end up having significant and reasonable doubts about whether the complainants’ memories were reliable, or possibly lies.

The trial is continuing.

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Sentencing of a woman who scammed elderly victims – including a 95-year-old – has been delayed so that a judge can find out more about a positive drug test during a home detention term.

The positive test for methamphetamine from 35-year-old mother Reiana Janine Hilton came while she was serving a home detention sentence imposed in December for shoplifting.

Since then, Hilton has admitted four charges of causing loss by deception and one of dishonestly attempting to take a bank card.

She was one of a group scamming elderly victims out of their bank cards and PIN numbers and then cleaning out their bank accounts. The whole group targeted about 30 victims, and extracted a total of about $270,000 from their bank accounts. Hilton’s victims were aged from 74 to 95.

Defence counsel Karen Feltham said Hilton had received very little from the offending, but Judge Jane Farish said she did not accept the defence assertion that she was “a very minor cog”. Judge Farish said: “I don’t think she was as minor as you want me to appreciate.”

Community Probation has now taken action to cancel the home detention sentence because of the alleged drugs breach, but Mrs Feltham said Hilton contested that cancellation and the case was due for a case review hearing on June 25. Hilton was adamant she had not taken drugs since before she went into a rehabilitation programme last September.

Judge Farish said, “Relapse is part of recovery.” If the latest test was a one-off, and there were no repeats, she would not be so concerned. But in the meantime she has remanded the remaining charges to the case review session on June 25.

She wants to know more about the drug test situation before that hearing, which may set a new sentencing date.

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