Serial Rotorua shoplifter Santana Tonihi sentenced to prison

Serial shoplifter Santana Tonihi at an earlier court appearance in 2023. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rotorua woman Santana Tonihi’s criminal record stretches 13 pages, with most of the 129 convictions being for stealing from shops.

The 35-year-old says she learned how to do it from one of her parents.

Tonihi appeared in Rotorua District Court last Thursday for sentencing on more charges, including stealing a $999 television from a shop from which she had been issued with a trespass order.

Her lawyer conceded the court had done “everything it can” to get her to stop.

Judge Anna Skellern said Tonihi must be psychologically assessed and given counselling and treatment after she is released from prison.

She jailed Tonihi for 12 months, but that sentence was already nearly over because she had been in custody since early December.

Tonihi called out to family in the public gallery, saying, “I’ll be home in a month” as she walked from the dock.

Judge Skellern said the lead charge was burglary of the television last November 29.

Tonihi was charged with burglary instead of theft because she had been issued with a trespass order from Rotorua Central, given the number of times she had previously been caught.

She was also sentenced for the burglary of an unknown quantity of items from a Rotorua supermarket that she had also been previously banned from.

On top of the two burglary charges, she was sentenced for trespassing in Rotorua Central and two other shoplifting charges for products valued at more than $130.

The offending happened between September and November.

What irked Judge Skellern was that Tonihi committed the offending just 18 days after the judge sentenced her to 21 months’ intensive supervision for seven other shoplifting and trespass-related charges stemming from offences in May, June and July last year.

Judge Skellern tried to get Tonihi to realise the impacts of her offending.

“It may seem to you like you’re only taking things from a shop, but these shops are generally manned by very hard-working people who really suffer from these sort of losses. I know that you know that, but you have created some really serious problems for your victims.”

Judge Skellern, reading from her pre-sentence report, said she hoped Tonihi meant it when she told the report writer she recognised it was a “big problem”.

“Look, Miss Tonihi, this can’t continue.”

Rotorua Courthouse. Photo / NZME

Tonihi’s lawyer, Douglas Hall, noted in the report that Tonihi had said she was mirroring behaviour learned from one of her parents.

Hall said Tonihi’s report said she fully recognised “her stealing habit is a problem and she wants support to change”.

“It is a real problem. Ms Tonihi has expressed to your honour in her letters she has recognised she has a serious problem and is willing to grapple with it.”

Hall said Tonihi should know that any more offences would result in prison sentences, because “the court has tried everything and without wishing the court could be bound in future, that is perhaps the reality going forward if she were to continue to reoffend”.

What the judge said

Judge Skellern gave a starting point on the burglary of the television charge of eight months’ jail and added another four months for all other charges.

She then discounted the 12-month prison sentence by 25% for Tonihi’s guilty pleas but added another two months for her previous convictions and a further month for offending while on intensive supervision.

That gave an end sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment, but given she had already served about five months in custody, it meant she only had one month left.

Offenders in New Zealand serving sentences of two years or less are automatically released after serving half of their sentence. Sentences over two years allow for parole consideration after one-third of the sentence is served, but the offender could serve the full term if not granted parole.

Judge Skellern said the special conditions set out in the pre-sentence report must apply, including a psychological assessment, treatment and counselling.

She said the prison-release conditions should also remain in place until six months after her sentence expiry date.

“It is to be hoped for the benefit of yourself and the community that that rehabilitation is successful.“

Tonihi did not have to repay the amounts she had stolen because police deemed that reparation was not feasible.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.