While his lawyer, Jarom Keung, tried to push for extra discounts for his client, Judge Arthur Tompkins was more interested in why he was booted out of The Bridge, a drug rehabilitation programme.
“He was exited because he was not complying with the code of conduct,” Keung replied.
“He wasn’t acceding to the rules.”
But Judge Tompkins kept pressing, and Wright answered himself.
“Because there was people playing up in my household.
“I was not using drugs ... they found drugs in our apartment and exited everyone that was in the apartment, but I was not using drugs,” Wright told the judge.
‘Road spikes end chase’
It was late on May 2, last year, when Wright was driving a stolen vehicle, with different registration plates, on Wairere Drive.
As he arrived at a checkpoint, he intentionally drove over police road cones to get around stationary vehicles.
He fled and was found soon after heading south on Te Rapa Rd.
Police did a U-turn to follow, but Wright crossed on to the wrong side of the road, sped south in the northbound lane, and turned his headlights off.
Wright then turned right on to Forest Lake Rd and pulled over to stop.
When police pulled up behind him, Wright reversed into the patrol car before taking off again.
A pursuit began with Wright then trying to ram the patrol car “numerous times” before police laid road spikes under the Forest Lake Rd underpass, and he eventually had to stop.
When searching the car, police found 86.3g of cannabis and a flick knife.
‘He knows he’s going to prison’
Keung urged the judge to consider issuing a 5% discount for his client’s background factors, even though the report had been written in preparation for his sentencing on other charges in 2022.
“There are still matters that he struggles with, including his ADHD and difficulty in his upbringing.”
He knew that prison would be the only option.
But a police prosecutor pushed for the full $27,000 reparation of the written-off patrol car, stating that it was “rammed multiple times”.
“Mr Wright made quite a mess,” Judge Tompkins noted.
Given the level of damage to the car, the judge ordered Wright to pay $10,000 in reparation and was unimpressed he’d not completed any drug rehab courses, which “he clearly needs for his multi-substance abuse”.
On several charges, including reckless driving, assault with a vehicle, possession of cannabis, receiving stolen property, and failing to stop, he was jailed for 16 months.
Wright was also disqualified from driving for two and a half years.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.
