Rotorua man Daniel Rikiti’s jail sentence quashed due to unsent letter

Daniel Rikiti has admitted a charge of dangerous driving causing Richard Martin's death. Photo / Kelly Makiha

• Daniel Rikiti’s three-year jail sentence was quashed because of an “administrative error” involving an unsent letter.
• His lawyer argued the letter could have affected the original sentencing for reckless driving causing death.
• A new hearing will address factual disputes before Rikiti is resentenced, with no date set yet.

The High Court has quashed a man’s jail sentence for reckless driving causing death, with a judgment saying the “unusual” move is linked to an “administrative error”.

The victim’s fiancee says the dragging-out of the case has compounded the trauma of her loss – and she just wants justice to be done.

Daniel Rikiti was sentenced to three years’ jail after he ran over and killed Rotorua man Richard Martin in 2022.

But a letter Rikiti wrote to the Rotorua District Court sentencing judge was never sent to the court.

His lawyer, Tim Braithwaite, has successfully argued on appeal the letter could have changed the “excessive” sentence given.

A new hearing over the facts of the case will be held before Rikiti is resentenced.

Rikiti was sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to reckless driving causing Martin’s death on September 17, 2022.

He was allowed to remain on bail while his appeal was heard.

A hearing took place on April 28 before Justice Michael Robinson. His reserved decision has just been released to the Rotorua Daily Post.

Rikiti appealed on the grounds Judge Paul Geoghegan’s starting point of four years’ jail was too high and the overall discounts of 25% were not enough, specifically given his guilty plea and other personal mitigating factors.

Martin, 59, died in Middlemore Hospital 13 days after being hit on Arawa St in September 2022.

He had spent a night out with his fiancee Tanya Anderson and friends and was leaving the Rotorua Citizens’ Club about 2am.

He stepped on to Arawa St and raised his hand towards the oncoming vehicle. But Rikiti didn’t see him and didn’t slow down, hitting Martin.

Judge Geoghegan said at sentencing prison was the only outcome for Rikiti.

He listed the aggravating features, including the fact Rikiti was driving a car previously ordered off the road.

Hours before hitting Martin, Rikiti had fought with his partner, who had further damaged Rikiti’s “pink-stickered” car by smashing a golf club through the windscreen.

Despite police ordering the couple to stay apart for three days, Rikiti went looking for her in Rotorua’s central business district.

Judge Geoghegan said Rikiti’s ability to see was affected by the smashed windscreen.

Daniel Rikiti at an earlier Rotorua District Court appearance in 2023 relating to the case. Photo / Andrew Warner

When Braithwaite argued Rikiti should be sentenced to home detention, he assumed Judge Geoghegan and the Crown had a letter Rikiti wrote with information about the smashed windscreen and his personal circumstances.

It said Rikiti’s car had been “pink stickered” because of a police officer’s concern about a wheel. A crack in the windscreen had been noted but that alone was not enough to order the car off the road.

Although the window was later smashed, Rikiti’s letter suggested he had rectified the main reason the car had been ordered off the road – the broken wheel.

Rikiti’s letter accepted the state of the vehicle was dangerous but he maintained the main cause of the crash was distraction.

The letter also detailed more about Rikiti’s circumstances and how he had sole care of his daughter.

Justice Robinson said the letter raised factual disputes around Rikiti’s offending, which needed to be addressed before sentencing could take place.

His judgment said the letter was not before the sentencing judge because of an “administrative error not attributable to Mr Rikiti”.

Braithwaite said he incorrectly understood the letter had been sent to the court and served by email.

Justice Robinson said in the “unusual and regrettable circumstances” the sentence had to be quashed and a dispute of facts hearing needed to be held.

A date for the hearing was yet to be set.

Martin’s fiancee, Tanya Anderson, told the Rotorua Daily Post this week the court process had “dragged out” for too long.

“What the system doesn’t realise is the reliving of the crime and the court appearances are just as traumatic as the loss.”

She said they had hoped in March at Rikiti’s sentencing it would be a time to “lay it all to rest”.

“The focus is on the defendant and the sentencing with no thought to the victims and the impact on not only the tragedy and loss, but the time it takes.

“I just want justice to be done and to let Richie rest in peace. This has been dragged out way too long.”

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.

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