Ranginui Magnum Taueki convinced a fellow camper to lend him the Volvo that he would cause a trail of destruction with in Napier. Photo / File
Ranginui Magnum Taueki convinced a fellow camper to lend him the Volvo that he would cause a trail of destruction with in Napier. Photo / File
A three-year jail sentence has been imposed on a man whose $50,000 damage spree included injuring five police officers, and putting three patrol cars off the road as he tried to escape from police in Napier.
The cost of damage to the vehicles in the October 22, 2018, chase, whichended when the man was found after fleeing on foot through properties in Napier suburb Marewa, was estimated at about $40,000.
Then he caused about $12,000 worth of damage on the morning of November 23 when he smashed up an interview room in a rage while a remand inmate at Hawke's Bay Regional Prison.
The dues were delivered when Ranginui Magnum Taueki, 28, appeared before Judge Bridget Mackintosh in Napier District Court on Thursday, having previously pleaded guilty to four charges of aggravated assault, including using a car as a weapon, and one each of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, failing to stop for police, reckless driving, being an unlicensed driver, and breaching conditions of release.
He had also admitted an unrelated charge of burglary.
Police in Ward Cres, Napier, with a patrol car damaged while trying to stop a stolen vehicle and driver last October. Photo / File
According to a police summary, the events last year started in September when Taueki, having never held a driving licence and having been prohibited from driving since 2004, was at a camping ground in Whangarei and convinced a fellow camper to lend him a Volvo station wagon so he could attend his father's funeral.
Never returned and reported stolen, the vehicle was spotted with Taueki at the wheel on Napier's Marine Parade about 11am last Labour Day.
They gave chase as Taueki drove off. Speeds of 100km/h were hit in 50km/h area Nuffield Ave, and another chase started after the man again drove off, after the vehicle was seen in the driveway of an address in Ward Cres.
At the intersection of Nuffield Ave and Ward Cres, Taueki drove onto the wrong side of the road to avoid road spikes laid by police to stop him.
When he was stopped in Seddon Cres he reversed the Volvo into a police car, causing whiplash to one officer and wounding another. He then drove into another police vehicle, causing whiplash and a hand injury to another officer, and injured two more officers when he hit another vehicle.
Despite damage to the Volvo, he drove off, abandoning the vehicle nearby and leaping across fences on properties in the area.
In prison a month later he was placed in an interview room after officers broke up a fight, and it was in the room that he began throwing chairs, smashed a table, and kicked and punched walls and a door. After a brief discussion with an officer he then smashed an air conditioner, a CCTV camera, light fittings, and electrical fixtures.
