A young man’s first-ever toke from a meth pipe ended up playing out like a real-life public service announcement about the dangers of experimenting with drugs.
The 22-year-old Auckland resident now has a triple conviction after one evening last September in which he tried to force his way into a woman’s home and then stabbed a supermarket worker with a fork.
The defendant told authorities before his sentencing this week in Waitākere District Court that he was 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.
Judge Nevin Dawson ordered one year of supervision and 80 hours’ community work, noting the man’s remorse, lack of prior convictions and the benefit to the community if his rehabilitative efforts were to continue.
The cut to the grocery worker’s chin, which required stitches, “could easily have been to his throat with far worse consequences”, the judge noted.
Defence lawyer Elizabeth Kim asked the judge for a discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression for her client.
She also took the unusual stance that media should be barred access to the summary of facts that her client agreed to.
Media access is generally standard after a defendant pleads guilty.
The Unitec student’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.
All three efforts failed. However, the defendant cannot yet be named pending an appeal of the judge’s decisions.
“The media are entitled to hear what’s happening in the courts,” Judge Dawson said. “The principle of open justice is paramount.”
The defendant was initially charged last year 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 spent two nights in custody before he was released on bail.
He later pleaded guilty to a trio of less serious charges: common assault, aggravated assault and wilful damage.
The summary of facts, recited by the judge in court, states he showed up at the woman’s Green Bay, West Auckland, home first that day. 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 Dawson said, explaining that 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. He also smashed a glass panel in the door before fleeing on foot to the nearby New World supermarket.
But the woman and her family had chased after him and when they also arrived at the store, they shouted for help to restrain the defendant.
An employee heeded the call and tackled the defendant, which is when the then-21-year-old grabbed a fork from a nearby shelf and lashed out.
He caused a small wound to the man’s arm and a 4cm gash on his chin that required seven stitches.
“I need to hold you accountable for the harm you caused to the two victims,” Judge Dawson said, describing the violence as “totally unacceptable to the community”.
The first victim was entitled to feel safe in her own home, while the second victim “didn’t go to work that day with the intention of putting his personal safety in danger”, he said.
The defendant was supported in court by his family, but at the time of the offending he was in a “fragile mental state”, his lawyer said, explaining that he had been intermittently homeless and his relationships with his family and his girlfriend had broken down.
“Regardless of what your circumstances happen to be, it does not justify violence against any other person,” the judge replied.
Crown prosecutor Eleanor Cato opposed the applications for permanent name suppression and a discharge without conviction.
She pointed out that the defendant has made significant progress with his mental health, which was exacerbated at the time by alcohol and drugs.
To receive permanent suppression, a defendant must prove extreme hardship would result from their loss of anonymity.
But concern about being unable to “outpace the competition” while applying for a graduate-level job would be an ordinary consequence of conviction rather than extreme hardship, the prosecutor said.
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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