Whangārei man Brian Amaitaiti sentenced for chasing teen with chainsaw over loud music

The man said the chainsaw used had no chain. Photo / 123rf

After listening to his teenage neighbour’s loud music late into the evening, a stressed-out father of eight lost his cool and chased a teenager down the street with a revving chainsaw.

Now Brian Amaitaiti, 56, has ended up in the Whangārei District Court being sentenced for assault with a weapon after a jury trial in June.

The jury found Amaitaiti not guilty of two other charges, threats to kill and possession of an offensive weapon.

The court heard late in the evening of November 18, 2023 Amaitaiti was at home in Raumanga and a teenager at a neighbouring house was playing loud music.

The situation was apparently common and an annoyed Amaitaiti got into a verbal altercation with the teen and other children next door.

CCTV caught Amaitaiti chasing the victim across his property with a revving chainsaw and into the cul-de-sac.

No one was injured and Amaitaiti submitted a case of self-defence.

Amaitaiti’s lawyer Jarred Scott said the jury’s not guilty findings on some charges was evidence they had, at least in part, accepted his client’s version of events.

But Judge Taryn Bayley was unequivocal that he had gone too far.

“We all saw the footage at the trial and it was a particularly volatile episode. At the end of the day, there’s children, he’s an adult here,” Judge Bayley said.

Scott said Amaitaiti had been bailed out of the area an hour and a half away from his family for more than 18 months, which had significantly impacted his relationship with his children.

As the sole income provider, Amaitaiti had missed out on his children’s extracurricular activities and should be allowed to return to the street, Scott said.

“At this point, in my submission, enough is enough,” Scott said.

“It would be fair for him to be able to come home.”

Scott also submitted there were two chainsaws Amaitaiti could have chosen and he went for the one with no chain.

“It was a deliberate decision he made that he was not picking the dangerous of the two”.

Crown lawyer Alex Goodwin said the victim had gone through trauma from not only the offending but having to give evidence at trial and now facing his return to the street.

“A [teenage] child, regardless of the actions they do, should not be confronted by an adult in this way,” Goodwin said.

Judge Bayley accepted it would have been terrifying to be chased by a revving chainsaw and distressing for the parents.

“You acted impulsively and it appears, in the heat of the moment. Having said that, that is no justification for your behaviour. It’s still a serious episode of criminal offending.”

Judge Bayley acknowledged Amaitaiti had not been before the courts in 35 years, had acted out of character and was genuinely remorseful.

He was sentenced to nine months’ supervision, 120 hours’ community work and ordered not to associate with the neighbours for six months.

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