Man who assaulted woman using scooter sentenced to home detention

Judge Philip Crayton sentenced Ricky Winiata to home detention after he had assaulted a woman with a scooter. Photo / Stuart Munro

After a dispute over a cellphone, a Whanganui man grabbed a push scooter, drew it back and drove its handlebars into a woman's midsection.

Whanganui District Court was told Ricky Winiata, who was appearing for sentencing, was at the complainant's address, he asked to see her cellphone, but she refused to show it to him and that made him mad.

Winiata, 27, grabbed his victim's arms and wrestled the phone away from her, smashing it in the process.

The woman left the address and went to another, but Winiata picked up the scooter and chased her vehicle.

Judge Philip Crayton said Winiata then entered the vehicle and commanded the woman to drive him home.

"Once you got back to your home you began to hit her with the back of your hand and you pushed her hard into the door repeatedly," Judge Crayton said.

"As she tried to fight you off, she screamed. You jabbed her hard with the handlebars of the scooter, that was to the midsection."

Winiata then hit the glovebox of the vehicle and smashed the scooter into it, denting a passenger door before members of the public intervened.

Winiata appeared at the district court on Thursday for sentencing on five charges.

They were assault on a person in a family relationship, assaulting a person with a blunt instrument, wilful damage, common assault and breaching community work.

In December 2018, Winiata was charged with breaching community work, a sentence imposed on him after he pleaded guilty to male assaults female in October that year.

Following the breach on December 20, the same female complainant was driving in a vehicle, Winiata followed her and signalled for her to stop. She did.

"You approached her driver's window, you grabbed her through the window and tried to pull her out of the vehicle," Judge Crayton said.

"Whilst she was out of the vehicle she was punched and knocked to the ground."

A victim impact statement identified that there were ongoing issues within the family relationship and the victim identified that Winiata needed assistance.

He had also appeared before the court for violent offending in 2010 and 2013.

Judge Crayton sentenced Winiata to four-and-a-half months' home detention with 12 months' post detention conditions.

"Nobody is responsible for your offending other than you. Nobody has bought you here to court except you and your actions," the Judge said.

"If you come back again, you won't be going home on home detention, you're going to get a final warning.

"Be very clear, family violence is dealt with sternly and it is dealt with by the court with prison."