Man admits theft of emergency generators

File photo / Greg Bowker

A man has admitted stealing three emergency generators the day after the February 22 Christchurch earthquake, at a time when a judge noted "people were dying around us".

When Owen Anthony Jackson first appeared at a Christchurch District Court session on February 25, Judge Michael Crosbie refused bail saying Jackson had been accused of stealing three TelstraClear emergency generators used to keep vital communications running.

"What would possess someone to do that?" the judge asked, remanding Jackson and an accused co-offender in custody for a month.

Jackson, a 23-year-old fisherman from Linwood, has been in Christchurch Men's Prison since and at a session there before Judge John Strettell today he pleaded guilty to theft.

Police prosecutor Constable Michael Tualii said on February 23, between 7.30pm and 10pm, Jackson and an associate took generators worth $6000 from three street locations and tried to sell them.

When the police arrived, Jackson said he was sorry and admitted it was a stupid thing to do.

Jackson has a criminal record which included a term of home detention served last year. Probation told the court he had complied well with the sentence and the direction to attend treatment and counselling that followed.

Judge Strettell convicted him of theft and remanded him in custody for sentence at the Rangiora Court House on May 11. He ordered a pre-sentence report and a report on his suitability for another home detention term.

The accused co-offender, Jed Wilson-Calver, 22, unemployed from the northern suburb of Redwood, has denied being involved and remained in custody for a defended hearing. He was remanded to June 7.

- NZPA