The court heard Youkhana’s offending arose from a police operation that was carried out in 2022 targeting a large-scale receiving operation which ended in October of that year.
This morning Justice Paul Radich told Youkhana he had played an active role in the enterprise, discussing what items were available and negotiating over their price, transportation and storage. There was also evidence Youkhana was paid through bank transfers from Soon.
When funds from Soon were slow to arrive, Youkhana would chase him for money, referring to the need to pay other people for the stolen goods.
Justice Radich told Youkhana his level of culpability was high.
“While you were not the ultimate leader or ringleader in the scheme, you were conducting a commercial operation in your own right,” he said.
“You would arrange for associates to bring stolen items to you which you would then look to sell to the co-offender.
“You established yourself as the main conduit for stolen property in the Wellington region”.
The judge noted Youkhana’s offending caused harm to many civilian and commercial victims.
Fear, financial strain and a feeling of violation
Crown prosecutor Madeleine Story provided three victim impact statements to the court from people whose stolen items Youkhana had received.
One was from a woman who had two bikes stolen but couldn’t afford to replace them. She also spoke of her fear after having a bike stolen from an area that was supposed to be a secure part of her apartment building.
The second victim was able to replace his stolen bike but had to spend several hundred dollars on accessories that weren’t returned.
The third victim worked for a building company which had goods stolen from its building sites that were received by Youkhana.
This caused financial strain and also an erosion of trust with their clients because of the delays that resulted from the items being stolen. Not only did it cause great stress to the company, workers also felt their hard work was being undermined, “and that their trust and feelings of security at the sites had been violated”, Justice Radich said.
The court heard Youkhana is already serving a two-year jail sentence for charges of burglary and receiving in 2023, imposed by District Court Judge Andy Nicholls.
Justice Radich said because the two sets of charges involved separate offending, a cumulative sentence was necessary. But he also acknowledged it was important to impose a final sentence that wasn’t out of proportion with the gravity of the overall offending.
He said Youkhana’s history of dishonesty offending over the past six years was “very concerning indeed”, with 13 previous convictions under his belt.
Addiction issues
But Justice Radich also acknowledged that Youkhana has substance abuse issues, particularly with methamphetamine, that had driven the offending.
Youkhana’s lawyer, Kevin Preston, told the court his client had voluntarily enrolled in a drug treatment programme while in custody. Youkhana himself indicated he would like his treatment to continue at a rehabilitative centre upon his release.
“I acknowledge what you have said in your letter if you are able to maintain your motivation to address your addiction issues, I believe that you can turn things around,” the judge said.
But the judge said he wasn’t convinced Youkhana’s expressions of remorse were genuine, given his history of dishonesty offending and the time Youkhana already had to reflect on his actions while serving previous sentences of home detention and supervision.
“While you have expressed remorse, it is in generalised terms and doesn’t, in my view, demonstrate the full awareness of the impact of your offending on the many victims that were involved.”
Looking at the offending overall and taking into account Youkhana’s guilty plea and addiction issues, Justice Radich arrived at a sentence of three and a half years but reduced that by two years for the sentence Youkhana is currently serving.
Justice Radich told Youkhana he hoped he would continue to use his time in custody to reflect on the choices he’d made and the harm his addiction had caused the community.
“You have the chance to turn that around by continuing to engage in the courses to address your drug problem and by making good on the wish you have expressed to attend rehabilitative programmes if you are granted parole,” the judge said.
“I commend you for that and moreover it will be vital for you, as you have acknowledged yourself, to stay away from those who have led you back into the lifestyle that caused you to be where you are today.”
He jailed Youkhana for 18 months, cumulative on his current sentence.
Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.
