“We are satisfied that the interests of the children, in this case, do not tip the balance far enough to make home detention the least restrictive sentence that is appropriate in the circumstances of this serious violent offending.” the decision read.
“This behaviour warrants the accountability, denunciation, deterrence and protection of the community that is afforded by imprisonment.”
Sweeney, 32, appealed in July against his sentence, handed down for his part in a violent attack that led to the death of Anthony Bell, a father of six from Te Kūiti.
His successful appeal comes three months after he was sentenced in the High Court at Hamilton alongside his cousin Frank Sweeny, the man who dealt the fatal blow.
Bell’s death followed an attack outside a petrol station in Ōtorohanga, involving a road-rage incident between the Sweeney cousins and Bell and his brothers.
Sweeney and Frank came across the Bells while driving south from Te Awamutu to Ōtorohanga in the early evening.
What exactly happened when the two vehicles crossed paths was a matter of contention at the cousins’ trial, but Justice Mathew Downs said he had no doubt the Sweeneys were the aggressors, tailgating Bell’s car.
He also said he had no doubt that those in Bell’s vehicle returned the aggression and, by the time they arrived in Ōtorohanga, “everyone wanted to fight”.
During the altercation, Sweeney punched Bell twice in the head, knocking him to the ground. He then punched and kicked him in the head again and stomped on his head as Bell tried to get up.
Sweeney also struck Bell’s brother in the back with a hammer, but his cousin Frank was the one who delivered the blow that killed Bell, who weighed 153kg.
Justice Downs jailed Sweeney on charges of assault with a weapon and assault with intent to injure.
He declined a bid for home detention at the time, citing Sweeney’s continued propensity for violence.
At the appeal, lawyer Nick Chisnall advocated for a sentence of home detention, stating that Sweeney’s two children were dependent on his care after their mother died in a car crash.
Chisnall also said his client’s remorse wasn’t taken into consideration.
The court accepted there should have been a discount in the interests of the children, but it agreed with the sentencing judge, who did not factor in remorse.
“Mr Sweeney appears to continue to hold to the view that his actions in the offending were justified and has not expressed remorse for the offences of which he was convicted,” the decision said.
“Given this, we do not consider that the judge erred in declining to discount Mr Sweeney’s sentence for remorse.”
Sweeney’s children are currently in the care of their grandparents.
Hazel Osborne is an Open Justice reporter for NZME and is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. She joined the Open Justice team at the beginning of 2022, previously working in Whakatāne as a court and crime reporter in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
