67-yr-old jailed for dragging man by beard, slamming him into letterbox

A dispute between neighbours aged 67 and 61 has ended in a lengthy jail term after a trial at Kaikohe District Court. Photo / file

A dispute that started with barking dogs and a Facebook post ended with a man being dragged along a road by his beard and slammed into a letterbox by his 67-year-old neighbour.

Maxwell Charles Dallimo Tobin, of Peria in the Far North, was sentenced in the Kaikohe District Court on Friday to four and a half years' jail after earlier being found guilty by jury trial of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The court heard that Tobin, 67, and a 61-year-old neighbour had been good friends until the neighbour got a couple of dogs, which then had at least 11 puppies.

Their barking and their habit of roaming, until the property was eventually secured, upset Tobin's wife in particular.

One evening she accused the neighbour of animal abuse in a Facebook post. He was alerted to the post and on his way home that evening he stopped in Tobin's driveway and shouted words to the effect of ''You'd better sort your missus out''.

Later that night, Tobin drove to the neighbour's home in his Landrover and stopped at the gate, revving the engine. The neighbour came out and the pair had an altercation.

Tobin then punched the victim in the face, grabbed his long, grey beard, locked his arm so he was held some distance from the vehicle and drove off, slamming him into what Judge Deidre Orchard described as a ''very firm and solid letterbox''.

Tobin then let him go and drove home. He called 111 but did not request medical assistance for the victim.

Meanwhile, the injured man was found by another neighbour. He initially refused an offer of medical help but when he became seriously unwell later that night he was taken to hospital and found to have broken ribs and a punctured lung, an injury which Judge Orchard said could be life-threatening if untreated.

Defence lawyer Wayne McKean said the men lived in a remote area so it was ''not unreasonable'' for Tobin to confront his neighbour after the threat at his gate.

His client never stepped out of his vehicle, and maintained he was retreating from the scene and only grabbed the victim's beard after they had passed he letterbox.

Judge Orchard, however, said that version of events had been rejected by the jury — as was Tobin's claim he went back later to check if the injured man was okay.

She also rejected prosecutor Jarred Scott's argument there was a degree of premeditation and vigilantism in the assault.

There had been an element of provocation by the victim earlier that evening with his ill-judged decision to confront Tobin, and his affection for his dogs was such that he failed to see their barking was driving his neighbours mad.

However, Tobin's reaction was ''totally out of proportion to what had happened, and highly dangerous''.

In a victim impact statement the 61-year-old said he had ongoing pain in his shoulder and difficulty with vital tasks such as gathering firewood.

Judge Orchard said Tobin had no history of violence but she could not give him credit for good character because he had previously been sentenced to six years' jail on drugs charges, albeit 40 years ago.

Taking a starting point of five years' jail she gave him a discount of six months because his age, and concern for his wife, would make prison difficult.