REON SUDDABY Hastings man Adrian Pritchard is the first to admit he's no saint. The former heroin addict has served a total of eight years in some of New Zealand's most notorious prisons for offences including armed robbery, burglary and threatening to kill. It was during a stint behind bars in 1996 thatPritchard discovered Christianity, but his settled lifestyle since then was disrupted last month by a dispute over a 3.7m tall wheeled cross, a man wanting a haircut, and a parking space. The unusual series of events was outlined on Thursday when 34-year-old Pritchard appeared in the Hastings District Court on an assault charge. Police prosecutor Sergeant Dave Greig said that on August 25, Pritchard was outside a hairdressers on Hastings' Heretaunga Street West, pushing the cross, which he took with him when he went out preaching. Another man arrived to have his hair cut, and from his vehicle asked for Pritchard to move from the parking space he and his cross were occupying. Pritchard refused, and when the other man tried to back his car into the parking space, Pritchard pushed his cross into the back of the car, before punching the other man once in the head. Despite pleading guilty to the charge, Pritchard claimed the other man had abused him and reversed his vehicle into the cross, buckling its wheel. Counsel Eric Forster said Pritchard had undergone "considerable change" over recent years. Pritchard brought the cross with him to court, but did not attempt to have it shown to the judge during his appearance. Judge Tony Adeane reminded Pritchard that "moderation in all things is the answer" and ordered him to come up for sentence if called on within nine months. Pritchard told Hawke's Bay Today he had been preaching on the streets with his cross for about three months, and was surprised by the altercation, especially as he felt there were other carparks available. "I was shocked more than anything - I'd had a good day until that happened. "I said 'what are you doing, you complete fool, get off my cross!"' Pritchard said he now realised what he did was wrong and that he should have turned the other cheek. "This is not worth the grief."
