Whangārei shoplifting: Off-duty officer sucker-punched; one offender jailed, one sentenced to community work

Two men were stopped by a member of the public stealing a vacuum and knives from Briscoes Whangārei. Photo / NZME

A member of the public was sucker-punched in broad daylight when he tried to stop two shoplifters making off with a vacuum on a busy Saturday morning.

Now, both offenders have been sentenced – one to prison, the other given a chance to get help.

Martin Hughes, 32, appeared in the Whangārei District Court for sentencing on charges of shoplifting and aggravated assault, following in the footsteps of his cousin Taylem Henry, who was recently jailed for six months over the same incident.

At around 11am on December 12, 2024, Hughes and Henry were in Briscoes at the Ōkara shopping centre in Whangārei when they uplifted two nine-piece knife sets and a vacuum valued at more than $1000.

They were followed by a member of the public, an off-duty police officer, who tried to prevent them from leaving the store.

A struggle ensued and Hughes struck the victim to the jaw with a closed fist, causing the man to withdraw from the altercation.

Hughes and Henry left in a vehicle but were arrested a short time later.

Henry was recently jailed for six months for his role in the incident and at Hughes’ sentencing, police prosecutor Valeria Benjamin argued his sentence should reflect the same.

With 14 burglaries under his belt, a large amount of shoplifting and brief spurts of violence in his criminal record, Benjamin said Hughes had a pattern.

“There has to be that denunciation and deterrent, given the co-defendant was sent to prison,” Benjamin said.

Hughes’ lawyer Connor Taylor agreed it was a serious case of shoplifting but his client had responded well to community-based sentences in the past.

Judge Philip Rzepecky agreed with Taylor and described the hit as a sucker punch.

“I’m not sure what interest you had in knife blocks but you were probably going to sell them,” Judge Rzepecky said to Hughes.

“The offending itself is a type of offending that poses a significant strain on retailers and people going about their normal business in our shopping centres. It’s behaviour that is wrong and at your age, you should know better.

“You hit that member of the public who was simply trying to be a good Samaritan.”

Judge Rzepecky said he had to impose the least restrictive sentence possible and sentenced Hughes to 120 hours’ community work, 12 months’ intensive supervision and reparation of $1000.

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.