Woman aimed car at former partner, ‘trying to scare him’

Gisborne Courthouse. File picture by Rebecca Grunwell

Judge Warren Cathcart told the court he could not imagine a more serious example of dangerous driving than that committed by a woman who deliberately aimed her car at her partner four times.

Joanna Brown’s actions were tantamount to attempted murder and it concerned him she had not been charged with something more serious, the judge said.

Had she faced the full effects of her offending, for instance, had she been charged with assault with a blunt weapon in relation to the car, she would definitely have been jailed, Judge Cathcart said.

Brown, 28, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in relation to an incident on November 4 last year and to charges of wilful damage (of a fence) and assault with a blunt instrument (a baseball bat) arising out of another incident in which she again targeted her partner (on December 10).

Further aggravating the second incident was that Brown was on bail for the first, the judge said.

He sentenced Brown to three months home detention, with six months standard and special release conditions, and disqualified her from driving for two years. The sentence included one month discount for remorse and other personal circumstances.

The November incident began about 7am with Brown preventing her partner getting into his brother’s car and leaving a property. As he tried to leave on foot, she caught up to him in her vehicle.

She accelerated and aimed at him, causing him to take evasive action. He continued to run down a street and made several other attempts to avoid her. He stood by a fence at the corner of Mary Street but Brown swerved her vehicle on to the footpath and again accelerated at the man.

He dived out of the way on to a grass verge. Brown narrowly missed him before her vehicle went through the fence.

Brown reversed off that property and continued pursuing the man. She said she was trying to scare him.

The December incident occurred when her partner was at his uncle’s home. Brown arrived and began yelling at him. After about 10 minutes, the man grew tired of the behaviour and left on his bike on Ormond Road toward town.

Brown followed him in her car, yelling at him to get in. He refused, as he was also on bail and prevented by a bail condition from associating with her. She got out of her car and approached him with a metal baseball bat.

She told the man, he had better get in the car or she would whack him with the bat. The complainant again refused and carried on riding his bike. Brown continued to follow in her car.

A member of the public phoned police. When arrested and in a patrol car, Brown said, “wait until I get out, I’m going to get him ... I’m going to kill him”.

Counsel Bryony Shackell said Brown’s account differed to that in the police summary but it was accepted she had to be dealt with on the facts to which she had agreed.

Brown acknowledged she had poorly executed some manoeuvres in her car and had driven it erratically, but not that she intentionally tried to run her partner down.

Brown was remorseful beyond that implicit in her guilty pleas and was willing to make reparation if need be, Ms Shackell said.

The judge rejected the recommendation of a pre-sentence report for community detention and supervision.