The court heard that on October 30 last year, Tipene jnr was driving when he pointed an air rifle out the window of his vehicle at another motorist. There was no mention in court of what might have sparked this offending.
When police tracked the vehicle to an address in Otangarei, Whangārei, they soon uncovered a commercial cannabis operation being run by Tipene snr. Tipene jnr was responsible for selling the product.
The indoor grow set-up spanned two tents, yielding 10 mature cannabis plants and 24 smaller clones.
Police also found 1108 cannabis-infused chocolates, weighing 20kg, inside a chest freezer at the property, with 216g of cannabis.
When the pair were arrested, an officer reportedly said to Tipene jnr, “I bet your dad’s not too happy with you”.
At sentencing, defence lawyer Martin Hislop acknowledged that if Tipene jnr had not pointed the firearm at the motorist, the drug dealing would have never been discovered.
“All the cards fell down,” Hislop said.
Judge Gene Tomlinson took issue with the maximum penalty for presenting a weapon being six months’ imprisonment.
“If I’m me, and I’m driving along in a car and someone pulls an air pistol at me, I’ll tell you right now, I’d be wanting them to go to jail. It’s serious offending,” the judge said.
Tipene jnr faced charges of cannabis dealing, presenting a firearm, and possessing ammunition, while his father was charged with multiple offences related to the cultivation and manufacture of cannabis.
Tipene snr’s lawyer, Jarred Scott, said his client had fallen back on old habits after losing his job.
Scott pointed out that Tipene snr had left the Black Power in the 90s, but his cannabis addiction was a lifelong issue, and he was now engaged with a Salvation Army rehabilitation programme.
Hislop said Tipene jnr accepted full responsibility for his role in the cannabis dealing and did not want all the blame to be placed on his father, who had provided him with good foundations.
“What are you going to do if Dad’s growing drugs?” Judge Tomlinson questioned.
“It’s normalised behaviour.”
The judge acknowledged the work Tipene snr had done to turn his life around from the gangs.
“It’s all about ‘do as I say, not as I do’,” Judge Tomlinson said.
“That’s hard because you feel like a hypocrite, but I acknowledge that, because you’re trying.”
Judge Tomlinson said he understood Tipene snr took pride in being the family provider, and losing his job had driven him to make money illegally.
But the judge said when someone offends in the way he did, “the court’s got to smack you”.
“If you sell it to your mate down the road and then he leaves it lying around and a teenage kid gets it and he takes it to school ... that’s why it’s bad.”
After considering all of the submissions, the judge sentenced Tipene snr to 11 months of home detention and Tipene jnr to nine.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
