Photo / stock file
A shoplifter used her car as a weapon deliberately trying to mow down Farmlands store staff as they tried to stop her leaving with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise.
Tyler Tanja Rahera Ngareta Gray, 33, stole a jacket valued at about $450 by taking it off a rack and putting it on. Then she wandered over to a stand of gumboots and helped herself to three pairs, valued at $130, before exiting the store without paying and running to her car.
Two female shop assistants noticed Gray’s thefts and chased her out to the carpark, Gisborne District Court heard this week.
The shop staff were about three metres behind her car, waving their arms for her to stop, when she deliberately reversed at speed, forcing them to jump aside.
One of the assistants said in a victim impact statement for the court that she couldn’t believe someone would do such a thing.
Visiting judge Kevin Phillips sentenced Gray to six months home detention on charges of theft and assault with a blunt instrument (the car) arising from the incident which occurred at about 1.30pm on August 19 last year.
The sentence covered other charges — two of theft of goods valued under $500 and an assault relating to two times she trespassed on and stole from The Warehouse Stationery.
Gray was on bail at the time.
During one of the incidents, a shop assistant tried to stop her leaving with $108 worth of stationery. Gray pushed the woman out of the way.
The other incident involved Gray stealing a can of soft drink after lying about her identity.
Judge Phillips noted Gray was reported to have been “dismissive” of her actions. She had previous relevant convictions for shoplifting offences and for violence.
A pre-sentence report showed her mental health had been deteriorating at the time and she had recently been a patient at Gisborne Hospital.
The probation service recommended a sentence of supervision, noting Gray’s poor health and addiction issues. However, Judge Phillips said the suggestion was “not anywhere near an acceptable level for sentence”.
For the assault using the car, the judge set a starting point of 15 months imprisonment.
Counsel Manaaki Terekia submitted the start should be lower because Gray didn’t actually hit the women.
The judge disagreed, noting her intention and that the women had to take evasive action.
The judge uplifted the starting point by three months for the lower-level shoplifting and assault.
Gray was convicted and discharged for her theft of the drink and breaching bail.
Her guilty pleas hadn’t been immediate so discount for them was limited to 20 percent.
She got a further 10 percent discount for matters raised in a pre-sentence report, including her mental health.
Pointing to her current efforts towards rehabilitation, which he said were motivated by Gray’s desire to regain the care of her child, Mr Terekia submitted the end sentence should be converted to community detention.
However, the judge said it wasn’t high enough in the sentencing hierarchy. Home detention was appropriate.
He ordered Gray to make reparation of $668.85 to Farmlands at $10 weekly by way of a detachment order to her WINZ benefit.