Violence, drugs and dishonesty in Nelson and Oamaru land former high-flyer in jail

The defendant appeared for sentence in the Nelson District Court today via video link. He was granted interim name suppression after a judge declined an application for suppression and an appeal was lodged. Photo / Tracy Neal

A young, formerly successful businessman’s fall from grace has been linked to the world of illicit drugs, to which he was lured by perhaps too much wealth at a young age.

The man, now in his mid-30s, was described as having had a successful, exciting career that allowed him to travel and earn the sort of money he was perhaps not mature enough to handle, Judge Jo Rielly said while sentencing him in the Nelson District Court today.

He began dabbling in drugs and before long, he had a significant addiction.

“It’s very sad the way your life has unravelled the way it has,” Judge Rielly said.

The man, who can’t yet be named, was sentenced to a total of two years and 10 months in prison for two sets of offending - one in Nelson for violence, weapons and drugs-related matters and the other for receiving stolen property worth almost $22,000 in Oamaru.

The Nelson matters related to an incident last July in which two men he threatened to run down at a bus stop fled to a nearby KFC restaurant, where staff locked the doors to protect them.

The man earlier admitted charges including assault with a blunt instrument, dangerous driving, possessing an offensive weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of drugs, namely small quantities of methamphetamine and cannabis.

A small number of other charges were withdrawn, while a co-offender was also charged in relation to the incident.

KFC in Nelson, where two men sought refuge while being chased by the offender. Photo / Tracy Neal

It was mid-afternoon on July 7 last year when the victims, a 50-year-old man and his 20-year-old son, were waiting for the bus outside a local bar and cafe in the Nelson suburb of Tahunanui.

The accused drove past and saw the first complainant at the bus stop. He accelerated and drove his vehicle at them.

The first victim yelled at his son to run. They were terrified as they ran down the driveway of a nearby cafe and bar, which led to a carpark at the rear.

The man continued to chase them in his vehicle, at times coming within a metre of striking the pair as they tried to escape.

Once in the carpark, he stopped the vehicle, then got out and began chasing the pair on foot, with the co-offender allegedly also in pursuit.

The accused was carrying a black metal pipe which he swung at the older man, narrowly missing his head as he scrambled over a fence to safety. It ultimately led to the charge of assault with a weapon.

The second victim, while running away in circumstances where he feared for his life, caught his arm on a gate latch and received a serious cut as he fell, and grazed his forehead.

The pair then ran off to the nearby KFC, where they asked staff to call the police.

The accused tried to follow them into the premises but the staff locked the doors. Police then arrived and arrested the man and the co-accused at a nearby carpark.

During a search of his vehicle police found in the rear passenger footwell a black metal pipe, which was thought to have been used in the attempt to strike the complainant as he fled.

Police found a baton made of the leg of a piece of furniture and in a bag, they found a dismantled 12-gauge shotgun and shells. They also found a bolt-action rifle and 36 bullets to go with it.

They also found a small amount of methamphetamine and cannabis plant material, the latter of which he was convicted and discharged for.

The accused told police he thought the older man had taken money from him and he wanted to get it back.

He also said the firearms weren’t intended for anything bad, but he had them because he was “returning them to an uncle”, despite there being no evidence to support that, the court heard at an earlier hearing.

Judge Rielly said the victim impact statement showed the younger of the two complainants was left shocked by what happened and in the days that followed he still felt worried and unsure of why it had happened.

His father, who described what happened as “terrifying”, said he had met the accused once before and had been left too scared to leave home out of fear it would happen again.

Days later, and while on bail for the Nelson matter, police found the man towing a trailer that contained expensive building products near where he had moved to in Oamaru. It led to a search of his home and the discovery of two expensive mountain bikes.

He told police he had bought the trailer from a friend and that one of the two mountain bikes had been found in a shed at the address.

He was later charged with receiving stolen property worth close to $22,000, for which he was sentenced today to nine months in prison, cumulative on the two years and one-month prison sentence on the Nelson matters.

Despite his efforts to show remorse before sentencing, Judge Rielly did not consider it genuine.

Neither did she think various reports showed he had suffered the type of childhood trauma endured by many who ended up before the court on criminal matters.

“They read as if you have been grasping at straws about factors in your childhood, that may warrant credit,” said Judge Rielly.

“I accept you have reflected on your choices and actions but that is because you are now incarcerated for your behaviour.”

However, his letter to the court did show he was ready for rehabilitation, which Judge Rielly hoped would be successful.

Judge Rielly declined an application for name suppression, based on public interest and the likely time from trial on an unrelated matter.

However, an interim order was imposed when the man’s lawyer indicated an appeal against the decision would be lodged.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.