Jay Beguely appeared for sentencing via audio-visual in the Tauranga District Court. Photo / Megan Wilson
Jay Beguely appeared for sentencing via audio-visual in the Tauranga District Court. Photo / Megan Wilson
A man whose life was threatened when he was kidnapped and beaten in a sustained attack by a gang member was left so traumatised he began sleeping with a bat.
The attack was highlighted in Tauranga District Court on Friday when the “monster” responsible was sentenced for a raft ofcrimes including kidnapping, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and escaping police custody.
Filthy Few gang member Jay Beguely, 33, was jailed for three years and one month on nine charges relating to the attack on the victim, who has name suppression, and a clash with police two weeks later.
Beguely previously pleaded guilty to the charges.
On December 13, 2022, in Matamata he approached the victim’s car and punched the man in the head several times.
Despite pleas to stop Beguely told the man to get in the car or he would go to his house “and it will be worse”.
Fearing for his life, the man complied and drove Beguely to the Matamata Filthy Few gang pad. Beguely continuously punched the man in the head with a metal object on his knuckles, causing him to black out for about an hour.
At one point, Beguely told the man, “I’m going to go and get the clean-up gear and a gun”.
Towards the end of the attack he said, “I should bury you but we need to sort out how we can figure this out”, and “you got until Monday to sort me out, you owe me $5000″.
The victim drove home, injured and terrified.
Two weeks later on Christmas Eve, Beguely was seen driving a Chrysler around Mount Maunganui. Beguely was already a suspended driver subject to a parole recall warrant and was actively avoiding police.
Police pulled up alongside him and an officer got out, telling Beguely to remain stopped and that he was under arrest. Beguely drove into the officer’s legs at least three times and accelerated towards him, almost squashing him against the car ahead.
Beguely then rammed the patrol car and a second vehicle before speeding off at more than 100km/h on Hewletts Rd and leading police on a chase through the area and across old bowling greens where he crashed and fled on foot. He was eventually found hiding behind a powerbox on Oceanbeach Rd.
Beguely’s kidnapping victim was not in court but was represented by friends and family who shed tears as victim impact statements were read on their and his behalf.
One of the man’s sisters described driving to see her brother.
“I was shaking all the way over, I was really angry when I saw him for the first time. I was shaken and upset. I didn’t realise the extent of what happened to him.
“Me and my brother both started crying.”
The man was treated in hospital for his injuries.
The sister said her brother was her “best friend” and his life was no longer the same.
“It was really scary because we didn’t know where Jay was or what gang ties he had,” she said.
“He slept with a bat because he felt so unsafe and didn’t get much sleep.”
The Tauranga District Court. Photo / George Novak
The sister said her brother was still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which affected his relationships.
“When he hears a loud motorbike it disrupts everything.
“My brother wasn’t like this before.”
The man’s other sister read a statement on his behalf, saying he had believed Beguley was “unhinged” and more than willing and able to carry out the death threats.
“I really thought he was going to kill me and [I felt] scared, alone and helpless that this was happening to me.
“I went home but I was in constant flight mode and paranoid. After a day at home, I had to leave my home just so I felt safe.”
But he did not feel safe. He still doesn’t.
“I lock the door when I’m alone by myself.
“I’m now very wary of people. I’ve not had any counselling, I’m going to get some but I just haven’t had the courage to get to it. I hate having to relive it.”
Judge Melinda Mason told Beguely she took into account his remorse, expressed in an apology letter held by the court.
“You refer to yourself as a monster in that letter, in the context of being unable to control [yourself] after seeing [the victim].
“That’s not going to help the victim much.
“But as concluded by the Crown … there are definitely things that have happened in your life that have been challenging to you. While it doesn’t explain [your actions] it does assist in understanding why you reacted the way you did.”
Judge Mason began her sentencing with a starting point of six years and two months but took into account discounts for Beguely’s guilty plea, remorse letter, and another factor.
Beguely was given two sentences of three years and one month in jail, to be served at the same time.
As Judge Mason’s sentencing was announced, some of the victim’s family members shook their heads in apparent disbelief and an older woman on the other side of the public gallery was also visibly distraught.
The wounding and kidnapping charges each attract a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail.
Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.
