Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Waikato News

Man jailed for ‘thug-like’ attack in front of victim’s frightened partner, child

Belinda Feek
By Belinda Feek
Open Justice multimedia journalist, Waikato·NZ Herald·
21 Nov, 2023 07:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Tama Bracken's relentless assault on a man as he lay prone and vulnerable on the ground has seen him jailed for 14 months.

Tama Bracken's relentless assault on a man as he lay prone and vulnerable on the ground has seen him jailed for 14 months.

A man’s “thug-like” attack over a car dispute has ended in a jail sentence after he punched his victim in the head, then continued the attack as the man lay on the ground in front of his frightened partner and child.

Tama Isaiah Bracken went to the victim’s Hamilton home on July 22 and began arguing over the ownership of a vehicle.

The 26-year-old scaffolder “squared up” against the victim before punching him in the head, knocking him to the ground.

As the victim’s partner and small child watched on just metres away, Bracken punched the man two more times to the face before kicking him to the head, causing him to lose consciousness for about 15 seconds.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Bracken stopped only when the victim’s partner pleaded with him.

The victim needed medical attention for bruising and swelling to his head and face.

Bracken’s lawyer, Eilidh Hook, told Judge Noel Cocurullo in the Hamilton District Court today that her client had been on electronically monitored bail without any problems, despite pressure from friends to breach it and attend a funeral.

She said Bracken’s partner was supportive and together they had two young children.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She urged the judge to follow a pre-sentence report recommending home detention.

However, Judge Cocurullo said he struggled to get to that threshold given Bracken’s “disgraceful [criminal] list for just hitting people”.

“He behaves like a thug. What a cowardly act. So he’s not satisfied with smacking him [the victim], he’s got to smack him a couple more times then kick him in the head.”

Hook said her client immediately accepted what he did was wrong and regretted it.

However, the judge struggled to apply enough discounts to warrant home detention.

“This was a nasty incident and you well know it. There was some degree of remorse in the sober light of day ... but not a whole heap.”

Bracken, who was connected to a “commonly known gang”, had previous sentences of intensive supervision and jail for violence, including an attack on a child.

Judge Cocurullo said that, had the latest attack ended after the first punch to the head, he would not consider jail. However, “the ongoing attack to the head by your punches when the victim is prone on the ground, followed by a kick to the head, is utterly disgraceful and abhorrent”.

“Home detention is not an appropriate response ... and I need to respond to your thug-like behaviour ... and kicking him in the head while he was on the ground.

“You are lucky he only lost consciousness for 15 seconds. It could have, for you, been a lot worse.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“I’m not prepared to sentence you to home detention.”

Bracken was jailed for 14 months.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for eight years and been a journalist for 19.


Save

    Share this article

Latest from Waikato News

Waikato Herald

Car crashes into Hamilton house, driver assaulted by neighbours

10 Jul 09:20 PM
live
Waikato Herald

‘A lot of rain’: Serious flooding, slips concerns as yet-another storm bears down

10 Jul 09:02 PM
Property

Legal hook means buyers risk losing thousands on Kāinga Ora homes

10 Jul 08:45 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Waikato News

Car crashes into Hamilton house, driver assaulted by neighbours
Waikato Herald

Car crashes into Hamilton house, driver assaulted by neighbours

10 Jul 09:20 PM

An occupant of the house and the driver were critically injured and remain in hospital.

‘A lot of rain’: Serious flooding, slips concerns as yet-another storm bears down
live
Waikato Herald

‘A lot of rain’: Serious flooding, slips concerns as yet-another storm bears down

10 Jul 09:02 PM
Legal hook means buyers risk losing thousands on Kāinga Ora homes

Legal hook means buyers risk losing thousands on Kāinga Ora homes

10 Jul 08:45 PM
'Angel riding with us': Teen jockey remembered for selfless act just before tragic death
Waikato Herald

'Angel riding with us': Teen jockey remembered for selfless act just before tragic death

10 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP