Petrol thefts, doughnuts on Ruakākā Beach, then arrest for pulling fake gun on victim

Rapira-Leaf pulled a fake gun on a member of the public after doing doughnuts in the sand at Ruakākā Beach in Northland. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A thief on a crime spree for more than a year was eventually caught after he was spotted doing doughnuts in the sand on Ruakākā Beach before pulling a fake gun on a beachgoer.

Arie Rapira-Leaf, 21, appeared in the Whangārei District Court on a raft of charges in what was his first time before the courts.

Between February 2022 and April 2022, Rapira-Leaf drove off without paying for more than $800 of gas at seven petrol stations from Raumanga to Kaikohe.

On each occasion, Rapira-Leaf used a ute with licence plates that did not belong to the vehicle.

During this period, he also used a stolen payWave card multiple times at the Otāngarei Superette racking up various purchases.

On December 31, 2022, Rapira-Leaf contacted a person on Facebook Marketplace about purchasing an iPhone and was given an address to view the phone.

Rapira-Leaf turned up at the address and the victim attempted to negotiate the sale of the phone for $1000 to which Rapira-Leaf responded “No money” and took the phone.

As he left with the phone, the victim attempted to get the phone back and was pushed by Rapira-Leaf.

On February 11 this year Rapira-Leaf was on Ruakākā Beach, in the same ute used to steal petrol, doing doughnuts in the sand.

A member of the public approached Rapira-Leaf to tell him to stop doing doughnuts to which Rapira said he would “blast” them away.

He pulled out a fake rifle, enticing the victim to “come on” while posturing for a fight. Rapira-Leaf would later be pulled over and arrested.

Judge Greg Davis said Rapira-Leaf had no criminal history and it was a shame he was now before the courts on so many charges.

Because Rapira-Leaf had been in custody for four months, Judge Davis and the police prosecution agreed a rehabilitative sentence was appropriate.

Rapira-Leaf was sentenced to 18 months of intensive supervision and ordered to pay the victims of the phone and debit cards reparation.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/Ngātiwai/Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked freelance in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.