Zayne Gordon attempted to set the Kaikohe Police station on fire with a Molotov cocktail.
Zayne Gordon attempted to set the Kaikohe Police station on fire with a Molotov cocktail.
A man who tried to set fire to a police station in a bid to impress a woman has been jailed for two years and three months.
But during his sentencing, the judge offered some blunt advice on his approach to romance.
“Any woman who’s impressed by you burning apolice station isn’t worth impressing,” Judge Gene Tomlinson told the Kaikohe man.
Zayne Gordon, 31, appeared in the Whangārei District Court for sentencing today on one charge each of attempted arson, strangulation and driving while disqualified.
He was placed on bail again but missed two judge-alone trials for his driving charge and while on the run, strung out on meth, he chose to offend again.
Around 3.15am on December 12, 2024, CCTV caught Gordon running up the ramp of the front entrance to the Kaikohe police station.
He placed a Just Juice bottle that had tissue paper coming out of the top, essentially a Molotov cocktail, at the front door.
After setting the tissue alight, Gordon exited the view of the security camera.
When the tissue went out, Gordon returned and lit the bottle again.
This time it caught fire and exploded across the doorway, causing black char and cosmetic damage to the front of the station.
Throughout the incident, Gordon was recording on a phone and talking to someone off-camera.
Zayne Gordon was on the run when he tried to set a fire at the Kaikohe police station.
When arrested, he explained it was not a direct attack on police but that he was trying to impress a girl.
His court file listed nearly 30 hearings, including two judge-alone trials where witnesses were called but he failed to appear, along with repeated bail breaches and multiple arrest warrants.
Crown lawyer Danica Soich revealed Gordon’s meth use started when he was 15, after being introduced to the drug by his mother.
Soich said his meth use contributed to his continual poor decisions.
“Not only did this potentially risk the safety of the police officers but it would have prevented police from responding to anything else in the community,” Soich said.
Gordon’s lawyer Martin Hislop argued for a sentence of rehabilitation at the Grace Foundation, but Soich submitted his addiction was too severe.
Judge Tomlinson said Gordon’s actions were foolish and childish.
“It’s the sort of stuff you expect from a couple of teenagers who would put double happy fireworks into a mailbox, it’s just idiotic.”
“The scale of this is childish, and indeed, an unsophisticated attempt of arson. Essentially, you get the benefit of how hopeless you were at doing at.”
The judge acknowledged the risk to life was momentary and jailed Gordon for two years and three months on all charges.
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.
