Teen’s car stealing spree in Nelson leaves vehicles with huge damage and owners with big bills

A Nelson teen who broke into several cars by smashing their windows, and then drove them around before dumping them caused significant losses and inconvenience to the owners, the Nelson District Court heard. Photo / File

A teen who went on a 48-hour car stealing spree told police he could “do what he liked” now that he was an adult.

But the court disagreed and told him that despite his own challenges, he has caused considerable pain, suffering, inconvenience and financial loss to the owners of the cars he smashed his way into and then dumped.

Pomare Pui, 18, was sentenced this week in the Nelson District Court to 12 months of intensive supervision with judicial monitoring after earlier admitting six charges of unlawfully taking vehicles.

The offending occurred over two nights in January this year while Pui was on bail, the court heard.

On the night of January 8, he left his Nelson home and wandered through various streets until he reached Dodson Valley in Atawhai - a suburb north of the city, just after 2am.

He found a Nissan vehicle parked outside its owner’s home, smashed the rear quarter window to get in, and then damaged the ignition barrel as he started the vehicle without keys.

Pui then drove from Nelson to Motueka and returned to Dodson Valley a few hours later, dumped the vehicle and went home around 5.30am.

Then around 10.45pm on January 9, Pui embarked on a similar mission, this time smashing his way into a Mazda parked in front of its owner’s home on a nearby street.

He repeated his actions four more times throughout the night at various locations around Nelson and Richmond, each time dumping the vehicle after driving it around.

Pui returned home as dawn broke on January 10, when he was eventually caught.

In court, Judge David Ruth said Pui had told police he was now an adult and could “do what he liked”. The judge said this, in his view, reflected a “total lack of empathy or maturity”.

He said all the vehicles taken had needed substantial repairs and there was no prospect of reparation for the victims.

Pui had a “number of deficits” in the way he operated, which wasn’t helped by his indulgence in drugs and alcohol, and some of the people he associated with, the judge said.

He spoke sternly to Pui, who was supported in court by an assistant who explained the sentencing to him.

Judge Ruth accepted and acknowledged comments made by defence lawyer Michael Vesty, that Pui’s crimes pointed to the impulsiveness and lack of full intellectual development which sometimes accompanied the actions of young people.

He also accepted Pui had perhaps not been operating alone, but the identity of any co-offender was unknown.

Judge Ruth said Pui’s risk of reoffending was high, and that while he was close to going back to jail, he had thought carefully about how to deal with him in a way that might enable him to move on and improve his life.

While Pui had a number of difficulties, people in the community were entitled to leave their vehicles in the street without “people like you deciding you will take them if you wish”, the judge said.

As part of his sentence, Pui was ordered to undergo counselling and treatment aimed at reducing his risk of reoffending, to attend an alcohol and drug programme, and if suitable, a Tikanga Māori programme designed to motivate offenders to engage more fully in rehabilitation programmes.