An Auckland man who was sentenced for a “short but nasty“ rampage that followed his first toke from a methamphetamine pipe can now be named after a failed suppression appeal.
Henderson resident Jean-Luc McPhee tried to force his way into a woman’s home and then stabbed a supermarket worker with a fork during a single evening in September last year, a judge outlined when the now-23-year-old appeared in Waitākere District Court for sentencing in July.
McPhee told authorities he had been introduced to the drug by anti-social peers during a short stay at a boarding house.
He said he started to panic because of his body’s strong response to the methamphetamine, so he tried adding cannabis to the mix to calm himself down. It didn’t work.
McPhee was initially charged with wounding while attempting to commit a burglary at the grocery store, punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment, and entering the woman’s residence with intent to commit an imprisonable offence. He later pleaded guilty to a trio of less serious charges: common assault, aggravated assault and wilful damage.
Court documents state he showed up at the woman’s Green Bay, West Auckland, home first. The two had previously gone to school together but hadn’t seen each other in seven years.
“She opened the door slightly and asked who it was,” Judge Nevin Dawson said, explaining the defendant addressed the woman by her previous name before attempting to push his way inside.
When she resisted, he punched her in the throat “with considerable force”. He also smashed a glass panel in the door before fleeing on foot to the nearby New World supermarket.
The woman and her family chased after him and when they arrived at the store shouted for help to restrain the defendant.
An employee heeded the call and tackled McPhee, which is when the defendant lashed out with a fork he had grabbed from a nearby shelf. He caused a small wound to the man’s arm and a 4cm gash on his chin that required seven stitches.
McPhee later told authorities he wanted to hurt the woman over some “old stuff” that he had gone through in high school. He explained the drug experience and said he had not slept for several days.
The cut to the grocery worker’s chin “could easily have been to his throat with far worse consequences”, Judge Dawson noted as he ordered the defendant to serve one year of supervision and 80 hours’ community work.
He acknowledged McPhee’s remorse, lack of prior convictions and the benefit to the community if his rehabilitative efforts were to continue.
Defence lawyer Elizabeth Kim had asked the judge for a discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression.
She also took the unusual stance that media should not be given access to the summary of facts her client agreed to. Media access is generally standard after a defendant pleads guilty.
McPhee’s privacy would be invaded and he would have difficulty establishing a future career in the IT profession if his crimes were known to potential employers, she argued.
“The media are entitled to hear what’s happening in the courts,” Judge Dawson said. “The principle of open justice is paramount.”
The judge declined name suppression but acknowledged it would need to remain in place on an interim basis while the matter was appealed to the High Court at Auckland.
In a follow-up hearing last month, Kim argued to Justice Mathew Downs the district court judge had erred by declining name suppression and a discharge without conviction.
“Ms Kim is correct the offending is mitigated by various features, including Mr McPhee’s age, his reasonably prompt guilty pleas and rehabilitative progress,” Downs responded in his decision. “The offending also appears to be out of character, in turn suggesting the self-identified ‘dark period’ thesis is probably correct.
“However, as [Crown prosecutor Nastassia] Pearce-Bernie observed, the offending involved short but nasty violence, with a real risk of worse harm to both victims.”
He noted the violence against the first victim was unprovoked, while the motivation for attacking the second victim was to escape. Justice Downs said he was unpersuaded that Judge Dawson miscalculated the gravity of the offending.
As for potential issues getting a job, Justice Downs said he was sure there were fair-minded, prospective employers who wouldn’t automatically exclude a candidate with McPhee’s limited record.
But he also noted there is a recognised right for potential employers to have a full picture of who they are hiring – “particularly when the occupation involves a heightened level of trust”.
“The principle is not necessarily decisive, but it is an important consideration. It is engaged here because of the nature of the industry of interest to Mr McPhee.”
As for name suppression, Justice Downs noted McPhee has strong family support and appears to have “settled into a productive, pro-social routine” over the past year.
“Fundamentally, suppression requires the statutory threshold to be crossed,” the judge said of the “extreme hardship” requirement. “The record falls well short of doing so.”
Justice Downs dismissed both appeals but allowed suppression to remain in place for one more month – lapsing today – so McPhee could prepare for the outcome.
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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