Sentencing at Auckland District Court for Hakaraia Mana Stanley, who says he's ready for a fresh start. Photo / Michael Craig
An Auckland car thief who caused a head-on crash on a Waikato highway at the culmination of an “appalling” hour-and-a-half pursuit - during which officers on foot had to dive out of the way to avoid being hit - already had over 50 previous offences on his record.
Hakaraia Mana Stanley’s licence was suspended and he had “high risk” amounts of methamphetamine and ketamine in his system.
But after decades of letting down his longtime partner and extended family, the 42-year-old said this week that he is finally ready for a fresh start.
He wants a shot at rehab, he told Judge Kirsten Lummis as he appeared in Auckland District Court for sentencing.
The judge agreed to delay the hearing, instead allowing him to apply for the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court - a specialised programme involving up to two years of intensive supervision.
Those who are accepted into the programme and eventually graduate receive community-based sentences.
But the judge noted he might not be accepted for the programme given the seriousness of his offending, at which point the case would go back to her for sentencing.
“It is very, very lucky that you are not facing charges of dangerous driving causing death,” the judge said. “It is only a matter of good fortune that no one was killed.”
Court documents state Stanley was in a stolen Isuzu D-Max utility vehicle around 1.20pm on March 1 when police cameras first spotted him on Auckland’s Dominion Rd.
“The defendant saw a police unit and, without provocation, suddenly started to drive recklessly at high speeds, overtaking other vehicles on the wrong side of the road,” according to the summary of facts he agreed to.
He drove through Mt Roskill and Blockhouse Bay at speeds of up to 100km/h, sometimes in zones with a 50km/h speed limit.
“The defendant also proceeded through multiple red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road and on footpaths,” documents state.
Police followed with lights and sirens and the Eagle helicopter also tracked the vehicle.
When he was spotted driving into the underground carpark at LynnMall, police anticipated he would try abandoning the vehicle and flee on foot. Some officers got out of their vehicle to continue the search.
“The defendant, seeing police staff, drove the stolen vehicle straight at a police officer to get away, forcing the officer to take evasive action to avoid being struck,” the summary of facts states.
Stanley continued to drive erratically as he entered the Southern Motorway, exited onto State Highway 2 toward Coromandel, then U-turned at Mangatāwhiri and headed back towards Auckland. He reached speeds of up to 165km/h.
“The defendant, upon observing a marked police car at a cordon on the road shoulder of State Highway 2, drove his vehicle directly at the police vehicle, forcing the driver to take evasive action by driving into a ditch to avoid being struck,” court documents state.
“A police officer standing nearby also had to take similar evasive action.”
The crash happened about 4km away from State Highway 1 at roughly 3pm, when an officer standing near the intersection of Pinnacle Hill Rd tried to stop Stanley with tyre spikes.
Stanley swerved into oncoming traffic in an attempt to avoid the spikes and “collided heavily” with a Nissan travelling the opposite direction.
Both Stanley and the driver of the other vehicle were hospitalised. The woman suffered a broken sternum and large wounds to her forehead and hip that required stitches.
Stanley’s injuries were minor, but a blood test taken at hospital showed him to have 120 nanograms of methamphetamine per millilitre of blood and 350 nanograms of ketamine. For both drugs, 50 nanograms is considered a high-risk level when driving.
The defendant pleaded guilty to six charges stemming from his driving that afternoon: reckless driving causing injury, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, driving while disqualified, failing to stop for police and two counts of driving while impaired.
He also pleaded guilty to an incident just weeks prior to the chase in which his fingerprints were found on another stolen vehicle.
If Stanley’s bid for the drug court is unsuccessful, he’ll face up to five years’ imprisonment for the causing injury charge and up to seven years for the car theft.
Judge Lummis pointed out that not only was his driving appalling that day, but so is his prior rap sheet for driving offences.
He has 20 convictions for unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle, nine convictions for driving recklessly or dangerously, another nine convictions for failing to stop for police and 16 convictions for driving while disqualified or unlicensed.
He also has several cannabis and methamphetamine-related charges on his record but surprisingly, the judge said, only one charge dating back over 20 years for driving while intoxicated.
Defence lawyer Charle Megala said there’s no doubt Stanley’s poor decision-making that day was related to his drug addiction, and said his client would be a good candidate for drug court despite his eligibility being “by a fine margin” due to the seriousness of the case.
“There is evidence of a willingness to accept rehabilitation,” he said, explaining that his client had applied to Odyssey House rehab centre but was turned down because his brother is already there.
Stanley told the judge directly that he was inspired by the changes he had recently seen in his brother.
“He’s a different person,” he said.
Judge Lummis asked for an assessment of Stanley’s genuineness from his longtime on-again, off-again partner, whom the judge repeatedly referred to as “long suffering” due to the defendant’s many run-ins with the law and prison stints.
She said the fact that Stanley is even considering rehab is a “major turnaround”.
“Two years ago, talking about Odyssey House would be a no-go,” she explained. “Then I started seeing him make the effort.”
She described Stanley as a good person who has made a series of wrong choices.
“He just needs to stop hanging around people who influence him to do stupid things,” she said. “I want the man I fell in love with...
“He knows he’s done wrong. He knows he needs to change. It has been a journey.”
The judge was moved enough by the assessment to allow Stanley’s application to continue.
If necessary, she said, the case can return to her for sentencing.
“But let’s hope you do make it and you can make this the turning point in your life,” the judge added. “It’s a hard journey... but I’m encouraged to see the good behaviour you’ve had since you’ve been on bail.
“Don’t blow it now.”
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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