A mechanic who charged a client for fictitious repairs on his car has had his appeal against his sentence dismissed.

A drug kingpin, whose skill in running a large-scale methamphetamine ring was described by the Crown as a "masterclass", has been jailed for 18 and a half years.

The heavily pregnant partner of a drug kingpin has been jailed after spending five months on the run with him.

The country's worst drink driver has undergone a lengthy prison rehabilitation programme aimed at stopping him offending again upon his release next month.

The family of a Dunedin woman who had her head split open with an axe fears her attacker will finish what he started.

A man who raped and murdered a Wellington schoolgirl 18 years ago has been freed from prison on parole, despite fears that he will reoffend.

A judge has blasted one of Auckland's most prolific tagger's signature as "visually-offensive, third-rate artwork" - but stopped short of sending him to jail.

A sex addict caught taking photos up women's skirts in one of Auckland's oldest department stores got his last chance in court.

An Auckland man who spiked children’s drinks with sleeping pills to sexually abuse them has been jailed for more than six years.

A psychiatric report delivered to the Parole Board found Ewen Macdonald still has a "significant personality disturbance" and has not addressed the factors underpinning his offending.

So alarmingly straightforward was escaped murderer Phillip Smith's flight to South America that it is imperative lessons are learned.

A teenager who was tied up and told her throat was going to be slit had to climb across balconies nine floors high to escape her attacker, a court has heard.

A man who stabbed an ACC staffer to death after a dispute over a payment has been declined parole.

An Auckland caregiver ripped off taxpayers for nearly $70,000 to try to get her family out of a "tin shed" they were living in, a court heard.

Police have apologised to Malcolm Rewa's victims over the length of time it took to catch the serial rapist and prevent his offending.

A man who raped and murdered a Wellington schoolgirl 17 years ago has moved a step closer to being temporarily released from prison.

A man caught drink driving twice within two hours - both times at more than triple the legal limit - was described as a "danger to the community" during sentencing today.

A young mother helped stop her former partner - 'psychotic' on synthetic cannabis - from driving her and her child into Otago Harbour.

Stewart Murray Wilson has been declined parole because he still poses an undue risk to the community, the Parole Board has decided.

A 55-year-old man, described as a "serial fraudster" has been sentenced for impersonating a lawyer and now holds 184 convictions, including impersonating a pilot.

The sexual abuse claims of a boy had been "clearly vindicated" and a weight lifted from his mind, a judge said as he jailed Damien Robert Banks for 15 months.

A former professional at an Auckland firm is battling to keep his name secret after being sentenced for possessing and exporting objectionable images of children.

One of New Zealand's most notorious female fraudsters has lost an appeal against her jail term for working as a prostitute while on home detention.