Colin Rondon appears for sentencing in the Rotorua District Court. Photo / Andrew Warner
Colin Rondon appears for sentencing in the Rotorua District Court. Photo / Andrew Warner
A gang member who was involved in an $8000 burglary plot that ended with his co-offenders being chased by police and flipping a stolen ute on its roof has avoided a jail sentence.
Colin Rondon, 34, appeared for sentencing before Judge Louis Bidois in the Rotorua District Court on Fridayafter previously pleading guilty to four charges - burglary, two counts of theft and driving while suspended third or subsequent.
Rondon drove four people to a house in Rotorua at about 1pm on March 2 last year to commit a burglary.
The group was travelling in a Mazda Bounty ute and drove down the victim's driveway and parked next to his Toyota Hilux.
A summary of facts, earlier released to the Rotorua Daily Post, said the offenders entered the man's garage and rummaged through it, gathering items to steal including motocross attire, a Stanley socket set, a high-powered water blaster and a CR250 motocross bike.
They put the items in the back seat of the man's Hilux ute and the motocross bike and the water blaster were loaded and secured to the back of their Mazda Bounty.
Rondon's lawyer, Andy Hill, told Judge Bidois that his client remained in the Mazda the entire time.
The crash on Fenton St. Photo / NZME
The victim was at home and called the police when he heard noises. When police arrived, some of the offenders sped off in the Hilux. Police chased them and it ended when the ute lost control as it came out of Malfroy Rd onto Fenton St. The ute flipped on its roof and the occupants ran off. They were arrested a short time later.
The water blaster, motocross bike, motocross attire and Stanley set were valued about $8000 and were recovered by police.
Hill said while a term of imprisonment was the likely starting point for sentencing, he asked Judge Bidois to consider home detention, given that Rondon had spent time on electronic bail which had included months of 24/7 lockdown. He said Rondon had a proven track record of complying with such sentences.
He also pointed out that Rondon wasn't involved in the serious crash that happened afterwards.
"He drove around there and never left the vehicle, although he accepts that he is guilty of the (burglary) charge."
Judge Bidois said a pre-sentence report said there was a medium likelihood of Rondon reoffending, was a life member of a gang, had five children and had in the past run a contract painting service.
"You admitted previously using methamphetamine but have been clean for some time now and you intend to stay clean."
Judge Bidois gave an 18-month imprisonment starting point on the burglary charge and uplifted it by three months to take into account the other three charges. He discounted the 21 months by a third to take into account his guilty plea and remorse and a further two months for time spent on electronic and other bail.
That brought the sentence down to 12 months' imprisonment, which he converted to home detention, which automatically halves the sentence - arriving at an end sentence of six months' home detention.
