Police recovered a loaded crossbow, balaclava, gloves, and a torch following a high-speed fleeing driver incident across Auckland overnight, which ended in Mt Roskill.
John Emerson Royal was sentenced to two years and one month in prison for a crime spree involving a stolen Audi.
Royal rammed a police vehicle, drove on spiked rims and crashed through gates at Mt Roskill Intermediate School.
Police found a crossbow, methamphetamine and cannabis in the vehicle; Royal offered $9000 in reparations.
With the number plate from a police vehicle he had just rammed lodged into the body kit of his stolen Audi A4, a Head Hunters associate decided to go for broke last year as he tried to avoid – unsuccessfully, it would turn out – going back to prison.
John Emerson Royal sped off from the West Auckland street where the traffic stop had occurred and continued on to the motorway even after the vehicle’s wheels were spiked – driving on the rims through Auckland’s Waterview Tunnel.
Sparks flew as the pursuit ended in spectacular fashion, with Royal smashing through the locked gates of Mt Roskill Intermediate School. Police would later find a ready-to-fire crossbow in the vehicle.
However, Royal, 38, is now sober and has re-evaluated his life choices, his lawyer told a judge last week as he appeared in Waitakere District Court for sentencing.
“Mr Royal accepts he is a drug addict,” John van der Zanden told Judge Grant Fraser of his client, asking for a non-custodial term. “He accepts he is unwell.”
Auckland police examine a stolen Audi after the arrest of Head Hunters associate John Royal at Mt Roskill Intermediate School. Photo / Hayden Woodward
But the judge declined the request, which van der Zanden acknowledged was a bit of a long shot. In doing so, the judge quoted a written victim impact statement from one of the officers whose vehicle was rammed.
“Incidents like this can go so very wrong, and I, along with my colleagues, are lucky not to have been seriously injured,” the constable said, adding that he doesn’t get paid enough for such risk. “I hope the offender receives an appropriate penalty for being so reckless.”
‘Sparks flying’
Authorities said the crime spree started on the afternoon of September 25 last year, when an unidentified person arrived at an Audi dealership in New Lynn and claimed to be picking up a vehicle that had been brought in that morning for repair. The dealership handed over the keys, even though the unknown person wasn’t the owner.
Royal was spotted driving the stolen vehicle on Titirangi Rd roughly 11 hours later, just before 1am the next day, when police attempted to pull him over for speeding.
“The defendant pulled over initially but immediately put the vehicle into reverse and intentionally backed into the stationary patrol vehicle behind it,” according to the agreed summary of facts for the case.
“The defendant hit the patrol vehicle at about 20km/h while two police officers were inside the vehicle, using the stolen Audi as a weapon of opportunity.”
John Royal has been sentenced in Waitakere District Court after ramming a police car in a stolen Audi and fleeing, then crashing through the locked gates of Mt Roskill Intermediate School.
Royal then pulled forward and backed up again, this time damaging the front bumper and scraping the side of the patrol vehicle as he attempted to make a 180-degree turn and escape.
“The defendant drove away at speed and police were unable to follow,” court documents state.
However, the police Eagle helicopter soon picked up the pursuit, observing Royal as he sped along Great North Rd towards Glendene “at speeds far greater than the posted speed limit”, running red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road. The vehicle’s wheels were spiked as Royal turned on to the motorway but he continued “at excessive speeds” even as the tyres deteriorated.
“The defendant eventually exited the motorway and continued to refuse to pull over and stop despite the police vehicles with lights and sirens on now behind him,” court documents state.
“The defendant went straight through the roundabout on Denbigh Ave, making no attempt to stop or slow down, and hit the closed and locked iron gates of the middle school – intentionally destroying them and sending them and sparks flying into the school.”
At that point, authorities noted, his stolen vehicle had finally “deteriorated” to the point it could take him no further. Royal got out of the vehicle and surrendered peacefully.
Police recovered a loaded crossbow, balaclava, gloves and a torch after a high-speed pursuit across Auckland involving a fleeing driver on September 26 last year. Photo / Hayden Woodward
In addition to the crossbow, inside the car police found 0.8g of methamphetamine, 28.6g of cannabis and a large quantity of tinfoil.
“In explanation, the defendant said he fled because he didn’t want to go back to prison,” court documents state.
Van der Zanden asked the judge to deny the Herald’s request for the agreed summary of facts for the case, citing his client‘s recent efforts at rehabilitation and wish for privacy. The judge denied the request, noting the defendant did not have suppression and the courts are considered open to the public.
‘Community at risk’
Royal now has family support and an offer of a construction industry job if he were to stay out of prison, van der Zanden said, explaining that his client has spent the past three and a half months on electronically monitored bail, keeping busy by building a gazebo for his parents and painting their house.
Royal offered to pay $9000 in reparations to cover the expense of the school’s destroyed gate, via instalments of $50 per week.
However, the judge said he didn’t want to impose reparations that, in reality, were unlikely to be paid. The Audi owner was also out almost $11,000 and Royal already owed almost $15,000 in outstanding fines from previous cases. Adding more restitution would just lead to additional frustration and anxiety for the victims, he said.
Auckland police examine a stolen Audi after the arrest of Head Hunters associate John Royal at Mt Roskill Intermediate School. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Judge Fraser determined the possession of cannabis for supply was the lead charge, deserving a two-year starting point. He added uplifts of 18 months for the stolen vehicle, 15 months for using the vehicle to assault police, one month for the reckless driving and four months for the methamphetamine, crossbow and breach of bail.
He noted Royal’s driving offences that morning “put the whole of the driving community in that vicinity at risk”.
The judge allowed a nine-month reduction for the 268 days Royal had already spent in custody awaiting trial and his two months on electronically monitored bail.
He described Royal as “a person with significant potential” but emphasised that he needed to embrace rehabilitation after his latest prison sentence ends.
Police referred to Royal at the time of his arrest as a patched Head Hunters gang member. The defendant insisted that was not true. He did acknowledge he had friends in the gang, which would make him an associate.
The judge said he had no idea which version was true but it would be a concern if Royal continued to associate with such a group.
He ordered a sentence of two years and one month’s imprisonment.
By that point, Royal appeared to have lost interest. He typed a message on the cellphone he had brought into the dock with him as the judge concluded his remarks.
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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