Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Intellectually disabled teen sentenced to care facility after crime spree

By Imran Ali
Northern Advocate·
7 Aug, 2016 10:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The 17-year-old, who was granted permanent name suppression, was sentenced to a specialist care facility for three years.

The 17-year-old, who was granted permanent name suppression, was sentenced to a specialist care facility for three years.

An intellectually disabled Whangarei teenager who admitted committing a string of burglaries, including breaking into a newly-wed couple's vehicle and stealing their wedding gifts, has been sentenced to a specialist care facility for three years.

The 17-year-old was granted permanent name suppression when he appeared for sentencing via audio visual link in the Whangarei District Court last week.

He pleaded guilty to three additional charges of burglary at sentencing, on top of earlier guilty pleas to five burglary charges, two of theft from cars, and one of aggravated robbery.

His crime spree started with burglaries of residential properties in March. The theft of wedding gifts, gift vouchers, cash, a cellphone and a card holder, related to the teenager smashing a Toyota Highlander's window on March 27.

The youth also broke into a crashed car in central Whangarei and removed more than $5000 worth of items while the vehicle's owner was in hospital recovering from injuries he suffered in the accident.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The lead charge of aggravated robbery was laid after the teenager and an associate grabbed a man in a headlock in an alleyway in central Whangarei, dragged him to the ground, and took an iPhone, driver's licence and wallet containing about $60 cash.

In court, Crown lawyer Justin Wall and defence counsel Wiremu Puriri agreed with reports from health professionals, including a psychologist, that the teenager should be admitted to a care facility. The admission would be under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Person) Act 2003.

Judge Duncan Harvey agreed, saying the prison environment was not suitable for someone who needed treatment for a number of difficulties identified by the psychologist.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He declined to make an order for reparation, saying such a directive would be "empty".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'Incredible': Northland retirees become world champs in new sport

27 Jun 07:00 PM
Northern Advocate

'It's security': Push for KiwiSaver access to aid young farmers

27 Jun 05:00 PM
Opinion

Jonny Wilkinson: Innovative trial seeks to fill respite care gap in Northland

27 Jun 05:00 PM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'Incredible': Northland retirees become world champs in new sport

'Incredible': Northland retirees become world champs in new sport

27 Jun 07:00 PM

The Warrens became the first over-70s Hyrox world champions at the competition in Chicago.

'It's security': Push for KiwiSaver access to aid young farmers

'It's security': Push for KiwiSaver access to aid young farmers

27 Jun 05:00 PM
Jonny Wilkinson: Innovative trial seeks to fill respite care gap in Northland

Jonny Wilkinson: Innovative trial seeks to fill respite care gap in Northland

27 Jun 05:00 PM
Roads cut off, homes evacuated in the south as Auckland hit by thunderstorms

Roads cut off, homes evacuated in the south as Auckland hit by thunderstorms

27 Jun 08:24 AM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP