Infamous Tauranga transient jailed for 131st time

James Hemi Gates was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court after admitting interfering with motor vehicles. Photo / File

A renowned recidivist dishonesty offender is back behind bars. Sandra Conchie reports.

A well-known Tauranga transient, who has served 130 prison sentences, has been jailed again for more than four months after he tried to break into a car on The Strand.

This is 70-year-old James Hemi Gates' 14th conviction for the same offence in the past 15 months and will be his 131st prison sentence.

Gates, who appeared in the Tauranga District Court yesterday via an audiovisual link from prison, pleaded guilty through his lawyer Jonathan Myers to a charge of unlawful interfering with a motor vehicle.

The charge attracts a maximum sentence of two years' prison.

The court heard that Gates was spotted by police trying the door handles of a car parked on The Strand on March 5. Nothing was taken and there was no damage to the vehicle.

Myers told Judge Philip Crayton that Gates accepted that a jail sentence was the only option open to the court given his past criminal history.

Myers said his client instructed that on this occasion he did not have any money as he was having some issues with this National Super payments.

"Mr Gates is sorry for what he has done and says he was just looking for a little bit of change to tide him over or buy something to eat until his super came through."

Myers submitted a relatively short prison term should be imposed.

Judge Crayton told Gates that he had one of the worst criminal histories of its kind that he had seen come before the court.

Judge Crayton said Gates had numerous prior dishonesty convictions of a similar nature including 13 in 2019 for interfering with motor vehicles.

"This is clearly your modus operandi Mr Gates and in October you were sent to prison for two of those offences," he said.

"At 70 years of age, Mr Gates you are once again back before the courts and clearly the prison sentence you received in October did not deter you."

Judge Crayton also revealed that Gates criminal history included 44 convictions for interfering with motor vehicles, 10 for unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle, 12 for shoplifting, 33 for thefts ex-car and another 20 for theft of property.

Plus Gates had a number of other convictions, the court heard.

Judge Crayton said fortunately on this occasion, police intervened before anything could be taken from the victim's car.

Gates was sentenced to four-and-half months' prison with no conditions of release.

"You need to understand Mr Gates if you keep doing this you can except longer prison sentences each time," he said.

In August 2018, Tauranga Judge Christopher Harding sentenced Gates to six months' prison for interfering with five motor vehicles in downtown Tauranga.

At the time, Judge Harding said Gates had 253 prior convictions and he had served 128 previous prison sentences, including a number of times for this type of offence.