Three Whanganui males were caught with knives and a screwdriver trying to steal a car, but one is paying a higher price.
Taurus Ratana, Steel Pirikahu and Derhys Jordan Nathan Tyric appeared in the Whanganui District Court on Tuesday after an incident in November last year.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Graham Hoskin said the defendants were on Pitt St in Whanganui on November 17 at about 11.30pm armed with two knives and a screwdriver, and on foot.
He said they approached a resident's house with a Nissan motor vehicle parked in the driveway.
"[They] broke through the rear window and stole a number of items ... then broke away the steering attempting to steal the motor vehicle."
Mr Hoskin said a resident saw them and called police.
"The defendants were found by police 100m from the address with the knives and screwdriver."
All three defendants pleaded guilty to the crime but Pirikahu and Tyric were offered diversion.
Ratana was convicted for unlawfully attempting to take a motor vehicle and theft of property.
Defence lawyer Anna Brosnahan said there needed to be some consistancy in sentencing.
"One's getting diversion, not sure what's happening with the other. My submission is low-end community work and he pays a portion of the reparation.
"It was a one-off brain explosion. It happened back in November, they are all employed in Waverley and have stayed out of trouble while on bail."
But Judge Dugald Matheson ordered Ratana to pay the full amount of reparation for the damage to the victim's vehicle and the stolen property, which was $1304.75, and sentenced him to 80 hours of community work.
Pirikahu and Tyric were remanded on bail to March 27.