A man who poured a kettle of boiled water over his partner after she grabbed him by the testicles has escaped jail time.
Luke Robert Lawrie, who recently moved to Greymouth, was sentenced to four months' community detention, 12 months' supervision and 150 hours of community work when he appeared in Greymouth District Court yesterday.
He was convicted of assaulting a female, breaching a protection order, illegally possessing a firearm, cultivating cannabis, possessing cannabis utensils and possessing the drug.
On December 22, Lawrie got into an argument with his partner at home. She grabbed him by the testicles to stop him from hurting her, but he grabbed a kettle of hot water and poured it over her.
The woman suffered burns to her arms and legs and required hospital treatment.
Investigating, police later found cannabis bongs, a pipe and a cannabis grinder, alongside a shotgun, air rifle with a scope, 143 bullets and a number of shotgun shells.
They also found 17 cannabis plants in a grow room, three cannabis seedlings under lights and 22g of dried cannabis leaf.
Lawyer Tony Garrett said that at the time of the offending Lawrie had recently moved to the Coast after suffering an illness working for a family firm in Christchurch.
Lawrie had been a "good earner", and had been promoted to a better position within the company. However, his illness had meant that the extra responsibility had pushed him into a "downward spiral".
He and his partner thought the move to the West Coast would be good for Lawrie, however after his partner had to work "unsocial hours" to make ends meet, and he had become the primary caregiver, Lawrie had turned to alcohol and cannabis dependency as a way to cope.
Mr Garrett asked Judge Paul Kellar to refrain from a prison sentence.
Judge Kellar said the offending was "serious", however the end sentence should encourage Lawrie to continue with some of the rehabilitative steps he had already begun to take.
- Greymouth Star staff