Man jailed attacking stabber

A Whakatane man has been jailed for 12 months for kicking and stomping on the head of a young woman who stabbed a close friend multiple times.

Allen Rex Gill, 36, appeared in the Whakatane District Court on Wednesday for sentence on charges of assaulting a female and common assault.

The charges arose after he intervened in the vicious street fight between close friend Ulaula Maeata and 17-year-old Chelsea Hodges, who was later found guilty of assault with a weapon.

Maeata was stabbed 15 times with hairdressing scissors and Gill thought she was dying.

He attacked Hodges, dragged her into the middle of the road, punched her, kicked her and stomped on her in an attack Judge Thomas Ingram described as "outright savagery".

He said Gill was extremely fortunate not to be facing more serious charges.

When a group of bystanders called for him to stop and taunted him for attacking a woman he chased them down.

Catching up with another woman, he punched her in the face and chest.

Lawyer Gene Tomlinson said Gill accepted that his behaviour went beyond that required to protect his friend and that he had acted out of anger.

"He thought his friend was dying and he lost his head," said Mr Tomlinson.

When Gill attacked the second woman he was still "het up".

Mr Tomlinson urged Judge Ingram to step back from imposing a prison sentence, saying it was a step too far for a man who had behaved inappropriately.

However, the judge said he was in a sentencing conundrum.

Gill had a long and bad record, he had been violent in the past and this was just another example of him losing his rag and taking it out on people who couldn't defend themselves.

He didn't pay his court fines and had not made much attempt to do his community work.

His probation report did not make good reading and it was clear that although he had a generally good upbringing, Gill had a shocking predilection for violence and offending generally.

A community work sentence could not be considered because he had too much community work still outstanding, and both Gill and his home were deemed unsuitable for home detention.

- NZPA