Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Teen tells judge he'll shape up

By Court Reporter
Whanganui Chronicle·
23 Jan, 2013 06:08 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A 17-year-old who was scolded by a judge for gesturing his objection to the summary of a crime he had earlier admitted has vowed to change for the better.

Hoani Royden Junior Check asked to make that point when he appeared before Judge David Cameron in the Whanganui District Court on Tuesday for sentencing on charges of robbery, theft and aggravated assault.

Those charges were laid following two episodes of thuggery that occurred within the space of four days in 2012.

The first incident took place about 5.50pm on August 25, 2012, when Check encountered his 16-year-old victim on the Aramoho Rail Bridge walkway.

The victim and his two friends were crossing the bridge as they made their way to Aramoho and walked past Check and his male associate while doing so.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The summary of facts states Check or his associate called out to the victim when he was halfway along the walkway. The victim stopped and turned to see Check pursuing him.

Check walked up to the victim and, with his fists raised and clenched, demanded his shoes. He told the victim if he refused to hand them over, he would give him a hiding.

Check's claw hammer-wielding associate then approached one of the victim's friends, pushed him up against a walkway barrier and demanded the guitar he was carrying.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Finally, Check insisted the victim hand over his cellphone, which he did.

Check and the associate, whom he refused to identify, then walked away towards Wanganui East.

On August 29, 2012 an intoxicated Check and several associates descended on Trafalgar Square shopping centre, where Check attempted to steal a pair of shoes that were on display at Number One Shoes. He was thwarted by a staff member.

Check moved on to the shopping centre's Countdown supermarket, and while he purchased items at the store, another of his associates stole a $7.99 bottle of wine, which Check hid down his pants.

Members of the public witnessed the fracas that resulted from Check being stopped and questioned by a Countdown employee about the stolen wine.

Check reacted angrily and punched the staff member before lifting the wine bottle over his head. The supermarket worker managed to move out of the way and the bottle smashed as it hit the ground.

It was during the reading of this second incident that Judge Cameron told Check he could "gesticulate ... all you like" but those were the facts he had pleaded guilty to.

Check's lawyer, Stephen Ross, told the court his client had a difficult upbringing. Check's father was a gang member.

But Mr Ross said there was potential for Check to turn his life around.

A sentence of community detention, as opposed to home detention, would allow him to access the support he needed to rehabilitate, Mr Ross said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Crown Solicitor Lance Rowe sought community work and reparation be handed down as well.

Judge Cameron said Check's pre-sentence report was poor. It pointed to a sense of entitlement, problem-drinking, a propensity for violence, limited self-control, an unstructured lifestyle and few positive influences.

"You haven't got a good role model at all, and no doubt that is part of the reason for the way you act," Judge Cameron said. However, there came a time when people needed to make their own way, he said.

On one count of robbery, Check was sentenced to six months' community detention and six months' supervision, while on two counts of theft and one of aggravated assault, he was sentenced to 150 hours' community work.

Check was also ordered to pay reparation for the wine and stolen cellphone, $7.99 and $200, respectively.

Judge Cameron warned Check if he breached the conditions of his sentence, he would "almost certainly" be imprisoned.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Police arrest 19 Hells Angels members, 72 charges laid

Whanganui Chronicle

'No significant changes': All calm after quake swarm at Ruapehu

Whanganui Chronicle

'Surprising' lack of property value growth in Whanganui region


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Police arrest 19 Hells Angels members, 72 charges laid
Whanganui Chronicle

Police arrest 19 Hells Angels members, 72 charges laid

The Whanganui chapter's president and vice-president are among those arrested.

15 Jul 03:26 AM
'No significant changes': All calm after quake swarm at Ruapehu
Whanganui Chronicle

'No significant changes': All calm after quake swarm at Ruapehu

14 Jul 11:23 PM
'Surprising' lack of property value growth in Whanganui region
Whanganui Chronicle

'Surprising' lack of property value growth in Whanganui region

14 Jul 06:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP