A young Napier man was sentenced on Friday to three years and nine months' jail for an assault and multiple burglaries, including the ram-raiding of a country town's general store.
Hawi Robert Kingi was aged just 20 when he hit the Takapau Four Square late on the night of April 10.
In Napier District Court it was revealed the same man had been responsible for several burglaries in and around his home area, stretching from Richmond and Shackleton Sts and Maxwell Place in Maraenui and Seddon Cr in Marewa to Kaiwaka Rd, north of Bay View.
Judge Geoff Rea was not prepared to take into account the offender's youth, starting calculations at four years and three months for the burglaries, uplifting 9 months for the violence, which included hitting the victim with a metal clamp along with punches and kicks, and discounting 25 per cent to recognise guilty pleas which saved court time and the costs of a trial.
But, noting Kingi had two previous convictions for burglary in adult courts and more burglaries dealt with in his days in the Youth Court, the Judge said Kingi had run out of reasons his age could be used as any excuse.