Donny Falakoa sentenced for crime spree

Donny Fakaloa in the Tauranga District Court in August 2014. Photo / Supplied

Fifteen months ago Donny Falakoa sat in a stolen car with a sawn off rifle beside him and penned a suicide note to his child.

A concerned member of the public noticed and the 33-year-old drove off, eventually spotted by police.

An officer also tried to dissuade Falakoa from drastic action but instead the intervention sparked a police chase to Tauranga a couple of hours long, reaching speeds of 160km/h, during which the man fired shots out of the window.

This afternoon at Manakau District Court, Falakoa was jailed for 13 and a half years for a slew of offences from that day in July last year and a crime spree during the preceding seven months.

He was handcuffed in the dock and flanked by four Corrections officers and one police officer, while two members of court security stood close by.

His lawyer Shane Tait described Falakoa as a "high-profile inmate" and said he had to spend time on remand in Wellington rather than Auckland because of prison security concerns.

Mr Tait said his client's behaviour could "only be described as outrageous" but he rejected the prosecution viewpoint that the shootout with police was premeditated.

The rifle was discharged in the air and no one could have been harmed, he told the court.

But Judge Charles Blackie said Falakoa had left a trail of traumatised victims.

"It makes little difference from their point of view what you were aiming at. Any shot in the direction of a person makes them think it's destined to hit them," he said.

The judge also expressed shock at the level of the defendant's actions.

"This type of offending -- shooting out of vehicles during a police pursuit -- is something I might have read about during Bonny-and-Clyde days. Fortunately it doesn't happen much in New Zealand."

Judge Blackie outlined the string of events that led to Falakoa coming before the court, beginning with some relatively minor car crime at the end of 2013.

But just a couple of months later, the defendant robbed a health club twice in three days, on both occasions punching people in the face and demanding cash and belongings.

Later, Falakoa was involved in several police chases, one of which saw him reverse into a police car, leaving an officer with a sprained neck.

He was also caught on CCTV stealing $5000 of antiques from a shop in Cambridge.

However, it was the Tauranga shootout and police chase that Judge Blackie said was most serious. The court also heard how after crashing his car Falakoa, while on foot, threatened drivers with his firearm near Baypark Stadium as he tried to steal another car to evade police.

He was eventually brought down by a police dog.

Mr Tait highlighted his client's turbulent upbringing which saw him leave home at 12.

He was fostered by the Tribesmen gang through his teenage years, the court heard.

Judge Blackie discounted Falakoa's sentence for his guilty plea and mental-health issues, leaving a sentence of 13 and a half years.

He imposed a minimum non-parole period of half that.