Rotorua police station's custody centre. Photo / File
Rotorua police station's custody centre. Photo / File
A homeless man who defecated in a Rotorua police cell and spread it around, making a malodorous mess that took hours to clean, has been jailed for 12 months.
Jade Tihi Smith, a transient who lives between Rotorua, Gisborne and Hamilton, appeared in the Rotorua District Court for sentencing onTuesday before Judge Greg Hollister-Jones.
The 37-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to charges including damaging his police cell, offensive behaviour, two counts of threatening behaviour, possession of a cannabis pipe and breaching court release conditions.
Judge Hollister-Jones said Smith went to the Rotorua Library on May 3 and was spoken to regarding the noise he was making.
Smith told the librarian he would “do him over” and to wait until it was dark when he would “deal with him”.
On May 8, he was in a parking building on Pukuatua St in Rotorua and defecated in it, making it clear to the CCTV cameras that he was there.
On May 12, he walked past a Rotorua Lakes Council-employed City Guardian and verbally abused him. He also threatened to injure him by cutting off his nose and eating it.
Judge Hollister-Jones said Smith was taken to the Rotorua Police station and put in a cell, where he defecated and spread the faeces throughout the cell.
“The odour caused significant disruption in the custody facility and had to be cleaned.”
There was a breach of release conditions by failing to report.
Judge Hollister-Jones described Smith as having a “very concerning criminal history” including 18 previous convictions for intentional or wilful damage, 14 convictions for threatening or offensive behaviour, two for assaulting a prison officer and seven for disorderly behaviour or fighting.
The Rotorua Public Library. Photo / Andrew Warner
Smith’s lawyer, Grace Banuelos, accepted her client would be sentenced to jail but asked the time be reduced given Smith’s mental health.
Judge Hollister-Jones said while there was no long-term damage to the cell, Smith’s actions caused significant disruption to the custody centre for several hours.
From a starting sentence of eight months’ jail, the judge added time for the other offences and Smith’s record, and gave a discount for the guilty pleas. Smith was sentenced to 12 months’ jail.
Judge Hollister-Jones noted Smith didn’t recognise his mental health issues and didn’t take medication.
He described aspects of Smith’s pre-sentence report, which the judge didn’t divulge in open court, as “deeply disturbing”.
He said he would impose “onerous” release conditions to protect the public, including GSP monitoring, not entering Gisborne without prior written approval and engaging with a psychologist.
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.
