Less-than-life sentence imposed for Rangiora murder

A 38-year-old man has received less than a life sentence for murder for the lesser role he played in a fatal drugs raid at a Rangiora house.

Justice Rachel Dunningham said in the High Court that it would be unjust to impose a life sentence on Shaun Murray Robert Innes because of his role, and because he had already left the scene when the fatal stabbing took place.

The attacker who wielded the knife, Jason William Baker, was jailed for life with a minimum non-parole term of 17 years, while Innes, who acted as “bait” to get the brothers out the door of their flat was jailed for 10 years.

The terms were imposed for the incident at night on September 13, 2013, at a house in White Street, Rangiora, which the Crown described in the trial in the High Court at Christchurch as a drugs-robbery-gone-wrong.

Baker, 40, and Innes, were found guilty of murdering Tony John Lochhead and wounding his brother Peter Graham Lochhead with intent to commit aggravated robbery.

The Crown case was that Baker did the stabbing in the fight at the doorway of the house they were raiding in suburban Rangiora, while Innes was a party to the offending.

Three victim impact statements were read to the sentencing session, including one from Peter Lochhead, 54, who said he had earlier lost another brother in a motorcycle accident, and the loss of his younger brother Tony meant life would never be the same again.

“Losing Tony hurt more than the stab wounds I got,” he said. He was thankful that their mother, who was now in a home, did not really understand what was going on.

He told Baker and Innes: “I can’t forgive you and I trust that the court will bring some justice for my brother.”

Crown prosecutor Pip Currie said loss of a family member was causing suffering and longstanding effects. She acknowledged Innes’ lesser role in the incident, and accepted that he had retreated to the end of the driveway and then left the scene. But by then, Innes had played his part by knocking on the door so they could gain access to the house. The incident had involved two men, affected by drugs, going out to get more drugs.

Defence counsel for Baker, Gerald Nation, said his client had had time in prison to think about his actions and how they had impacted on Tony Lochhead’s family. Baker had thought about Peter Lochhead watching his brother die in front of his eyes. “I would not wish that on my worst enemy,” Baker wrote in a letter to the judge.

He wrote: “I sort of wish I was the one who died that night. If I could give my life to take back what happened to Tony and Peter , I would.” He apologised, and said he believed Tony Lochhead was “a good man with a good heart”. Tony Lochhead had always helped him and his partner when they were sick and had given them something “to make them feel better”.

“I can’t understand why I would do something so vicious to him,” Baker wrote.

Mr Nation said the offending had arisen from Baker’s drug taking that day. “Drug taking caused him to act in an irrational way. It was ultimately a major factor in the violence he used.”

Innes’ defence counsel, Michael Knowles, said there had been evidence of physical threats to his client by Baker. Innes had been becoming concerned about Baker’s mental state. Innes had not “lured” anyone out of the house. He had gone to the door and had been invited in, but when he saw the men at the house he had left and had been chased by Tony Lochhead.

Justice Rachel Dunningham disputed that the evidence showed there had been a “chase”.

Innes had left the scene, but Mr Knowles said, “He takes responsibility for getting involved in something that he must have known had the potential to go wrong.” He now realised what a waste of a life he had had. The jury’s verdict meant that Innes’ attempt to withdraw from the offending by leaving had not been successful.

Justice Dunningham said both men were regular drug users. They had targeted the Lochhead’s home in a raid for drugs and cash. Baker had been armed with a knife, and hid in the bushes along the driveway after the Lochheads came out of the house after Innes’ knock at the door.

In the struggle at the doorway after the Lochheads went back inside, Tony Lochhead received a fatal wound in the upper chest from Baker and Peter Lochhead was stabbed several times, including one wound through the cheek.

She said: “I’m satisfied that you, Innes, were not present when the fatal stab wound occurred. The jury was clearly of the view that you went went there with a common intention to rob the Lochheads and that you had played your part in enticing them out of the flat.”

She said Baker had been deported from Australia to New Zealand in 1995. He had been involved with drugs since childhood having grown up in a household where drug use was normalised. He was seen as a high risk of reoffending, and he had faced six misconduct charges since his remand in custody at prison.

Innes, a father of three, had received a brain injury in a car accident in 1994. This led to impulsivity and poor concentration, and his drug use followed.

She jailed Baker for life with a minimum non-parole term of 17 year, but she found that a life term would be unjust for Innes because of the lesser role he played and the fact that he had distanced himself and left the scene before the fatal stabbing took place. She jailed him for a finite term of 10 years.

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