Car theft is on the rise and so too could the cost of insuring the most stolen vehicles so what can you do to keep yours safe? Video / NZ Herald
An Auckland man with 70 theft convictions was jailed after being caught with a stolen Bentley.
He was sentenced to 22 months in prison by Judge Nevin Dawson in Auckland District Court.
Police found methamphetamine and Maserati keys on him; his partner was sentenced last year.
An Auckland man with 70 prior theft-related convictions is back in jail after police caught him behind the wheel of a stolen Bentley in Remuera.
Also found on him during the arrest were two sets of keys for a Maserati that had vanished from the sameposh - but abandoned - St Heliers property where the other high-end car had been stored.
Details of the bizarre heist were revealed in Auckland District Court yesterday as the 38-year-old, who cannot yet be identified for legal reasons, was sentenced by Judge Nevin Dawson to 22 months' imprisonment.
“I denounce your conduct,” the judge told the defendant. “It’s all behaviour which is unacceptable to the community.”
Court documents state the vehicles, a blue 2010 Maserati GranTurismo worth an estimated $65,000 and a silver Bentley Continental Flying Spur valued at $75,000, went missing during a burglary of two side-by-side addresses in January 2023.
The properties, jointly valued at over $10 million, were unoccupied and had been previously seized as part of a bankruptcy along with all the items inside. Before going into receivership, the property was formerly associated with a couple who were sentenced to prison in Hong Kong in 2016 for fraudulent business dealings in New Zealand.
Police said the 2010 Maserati GranTurismo stolen from an abandoned St Heliers home was worth $65,000. Photo / Stock
Both cars appeared to have remained parked inside the internal garage for years while the property was the subject of an overseas restraining order related to the Hong Kong case.
Police spotted the Bentley with false registration plates as the defendant was driving it through Remuera a month-and-a-half after the burglary, according to the agreed summary of facts for the case.
After being followed by the police Eagle helicopter for about 20 minutes, the defendant and his partner abandoned the vehicle at the end of a street and headed towards a secluded pathway with a backpack in tow.
The defendant was stopped by police at the start of the pathway, while his partner continued on and dumped the backpack in the bushes, police alleged. Inside the recovered backpack, police later found 51g of meth and electronic scales.
“I was just being a hero by taking the bag,” the defendant’s partner later told police, adding that the drugs were “just for personal use”. She was sentenced last year.
Both were initially charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply, which carries a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment. However, the charge was later reduced to simple possession, punishable by up to six months.
A 2010 model Bently Continental Flying Spur was stolen from a St Heliers, Auckland home in a 2023 burglary. Photo / Stock
Defence lawyer Levi Jackson emphasised during yesterday’s hearing that his client pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property for the Bentley. It would be unfair to hold him accountable for the burglary in which the cars were taken when it hasn’t been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he was involved, he argued.
Crown prosecutor Liam Dalton didn’t disagree but noted there was ample evidence that the defendant knew both vehicles had been stolen.
A search of his phone revealed Google searches for:
“Stolen Bentley and Maserati Auckland”
“stolen bentley st heliers”
“How to make RollJam device”
“RollJam device parts needed”, and
“How to Disable an Alarm System From Outside”
RollJam is a device often sought by thieves that wirelessly unlocks car and garage doors.
Police also found a voice message on the defendant’s phone in which an unknown man said: “Hope you solved that f***en Maserati, please tell me you did.”
Jackson said his client accepted that he would be going to prison for the charges, but he also noted that he had taken rehabilitation more seriously than most defendants do while awaiting resolution of the case.
“[He] hasn’t just undertaken rehabilitation in a tokenistic way,” he said.
Judge Dawson agreed that a community-based sentence was off the table, despite the end sentence being below the two-year mark where judges can consider replacing a term of imprisonment with home detention.
He acknowledged the work the man has done while in custody but also noted his lengthy record of prior convictions and a pre-sentence report that did not paint him in a good light.
The defendant was described as having a “total disregard for lawful directions” and an entitled attitude. He was assessed as being likely to offend again and having a low likelihood of complying with a community-based sentence if one was to be imposed.
In fact, the judge noted, he was already on electronically monitored bail for the receiving charges when he picked up new charges earlier this year for possession of ammunition and methamphetamine ingredient ephedrine.
The defence lawyer noted that several rounds had been dismantled and were not live.
Judge Dawson increased the sentence by four months to account for the newest charges.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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