A horse trainer’s career is likely in tatters – she may be banned from all racecourses – after her conviction for what she thought was going to be a cannabis burglary.
A representative of the Racing Integrity Unit was at the Christchurch District Court to watch the sentencing of Candice Ruth Orange, 37.
The unit will decide her future, but her work as a stablehand and caring for her own horses now looks in doubt because a seven-month home detention sentencing will block that happening.
Orange now lives at Rangiora. Judge Alistair Garland imposed a special condition for her to undergo any recommended “alcohol and drug intervention” required by her probation officer.
She was sobbing and in tears after finding out what the sentence was going to be for her role in the February 2017 burglary.
Defence counsel April Kelland had urged the judge to impose the lighter community detention sentence recommended in her pre-sentence report, which would have let her continue working.
She said Orange had been in the racing industry for 22 years and her horse training career had really taken off.
“Her situation now is that she will be sanctioned under the racing industry rules, and unless there is an exemption granted, she will be totally barred from any racecourses,” she said.
Judge Garland said Orange had previously been in a relationship with the burglary victim and had texted him to join her for the evening at her house.
While he was there, she was in text contact with her current partner at the time, Timothy Kinghorn. The pair had planned that Kinghorn would go to the victim’s house and burgle a container where they believed cannabis was being grown.
In fact – without Orange’s knowledge – Kinghorn broke into the house and took items worth $22,636 and two firearms. Throughout the evening of the burglary, Orange was texting him about the victim’s location and movements.
Judge Garland said the burglary had been carefully planned and had involved deception to ensure the victim was not at home. It was a breach of trust. The pair had agreed to do something unlawful, so Orange had been a party to Kinghorn’s crime.
The judge noted that Orange had few convictions – three driving convictions including drink-driving and driving while disqualified – while Kinghorn had a record of serious offending including a 2014 jail term. He was earlier jailed for two years three months by Judge Garland for this latest burglary.
“I am prepared to accept counsel’s submission that you were influenced by Kinghorn to become involved in this serious offending,” the judge told Orange.
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