A 31-year-old with Mongrel Mob links was high on methamphetamine and alcohol when his aggressive driving injured two people in a taxi he crashed into.
“He is hazy as to what took place,” defence counsel Chris Persson said at the Christchurch District Court sentencing of Reon Brent Borell.
Mr Persson told Judge Raoul Neave that Borell had been in custody on remand for 15 months since his arrest, and had done courses in prison. “There seems to be a change occurring with this man,” he said urging the judge to impose a sentence that would allow Borell to undergo rehabilitation at Moana House in Dunedin.
The recidivist offender was jailed for 30 months on 12 charges, all occurring on May 13, 2015.
He began by burgling a Hoskyns Road, Templeton, home, taking a laptop, television, cheque book, cash, food, rifle, and two shotguns.
He moved on to a home in Dyers Pass Road where he took wine, cash, a laptop, five passports, and personal items.
He then drove dangerously along Moorhouse Ave, going through two red lights, aggressively changing lanes, and swerving around cars.
He drove towards Hornby where he swerved out of his lane and hit a taxi, injuring both the driver and his passenger. Both cars ended up on the footpath, but Borell reversed back onto the road and continued.
He drove to a house in Marshs Road Templeton, and took photography equipment, a computer tablet, computer equipment, and other items.
When he was arrested he failed to complete an alcohol breath test, and refused a blood sample to be taken, telling the police present that he wanted to fight them.
His car was searched and a rifle, knuckle duster, and three knives were found. There was also a pipe for smoking methamphetamine, and 17g of dried cannabis.
He was sentenced on three charges of burglary, dangerous driving, dangerous driving causing injury, failing to stop to ascertain injury after a crash, disqualified driving, refusing to give blood, possession of a firearm, possession of offensive weapons, possession of cannabis, and possession of a pipe.
Mr Persson said Borell felt bad because he had caused injury.
Police prosecutor Glenn Henderson said Borell had previous firearms, burglary, and driving convictions, and was a recidivist offender.
Judge Raoul Neave said there was a real concern when people stole firearms, and stealing laptops and phones meant people irretrievably lost personal photographs.
Borell’s pre-sentence report said he was entrenched in a local gang, Judge Neave said, and he told him that the gang would always lead him into temptation, and that he needed to build a relationship with his family and forget about the gang.
He urged the parole board, where Borell will have a meeting almost immediately, to release him into a rehabilitation facility.
He said the victims of the burglaries were frightened, lost property, and did not feel safe in their homes. Burglary caused a sense of invasion that some people never got over.
Borell had caused financial, personal, and emotional costs to the people in the accident, he said.
He sentenced Borell to 30 months’ prison, and to pay reparation of $3750.
He disqualified him from driving and said he would have to apply for a zero-alcohol licence when he was allowed to drive again.
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