Five months behind bars for man who smeared camera

A Whanganui man who smeared faeces over a police CCTV camera has received a prison sentence.

Fabian Christian Andrew Bull pleaded guilty to two charges of wilful damage and two of receiving stolen property when he appeared in Whanganui District Court yesterday.

The court heard that on November 9 last year items including a claw hammer had been taken from a garage in Whanganui and were later found at Bull's home.

On the same day, 10 bottles of medicine were stolen from Hawkins Pharmacy in Whanganui East and were also later found in Bull's possession.

Then, on November 13, Bull was in a secure cell of a prison truck at Kaitoke and was "extremely agitated and aggressive".

When getting out of the vehicle, he picked up a set of steps and smashed a window of the truck with it. Earlier that day at the Whanganui police station, he "pulled down his trousers and defecated on the cell floor" before smearing his faeces over a CCTV camera "rendering it inoperable".

Judge David Cameron convicted Bull and sentenced him to two months' imprisonment for each receiving stolen property charge and a further month in prison for the wilful damage charges - a total of five months in prison.

He was ordered to pay $100 in reparations for the cleaning of the police cell and $1386 for damage to the police vehicle.