Emotions high at kidnap sentencing
Feelings were running high and threats were made in court as two teenagers avoided imprisonment for a bizarre incident involving assault and kidnapping.
“Scum,” a relative of the kidnapping victim said as the sentencing ended, and she told a relative of one of the offenders, “You’ll be next, girl.”
The woman who received that threat complained earlier in the sentencing that she had been told, “You’re dead”, as she sat in the Christchurch District Court’s public seating.
Judge Stephen O’Driscoll had to intervene at one stage to say that anyone else who said anything would have to leave the court.
Before the court, after guilty pleas a week before their trial, were 18-year-old Levi Michael Ennis on a charge of kidnapping, and 19-year-old Kyle David Donaldson on charges of assaulting the victim, reckless driving, failing to stop for police, breach of community work, and possession of a pipe for smoking drugs.
The court was told that the offending arose from their chronic addiction to synthetic cannabis.
The victim, a woman aged 21 who knew the offenders, told of having bad dreams and crying herself to sleep when she thought about what had happened to her.
The two pressured the woman for money to buy the drug, and then took her to her mother’s to try to get money from her. The cash was refused, and during the aggressive exchange that followed, Donaldson punched the victim in the jaw.
They then took her to a garage where Ennis used electrical cord to tie her to chair. She was freed when she agreed to pay him money when her benefit was paid.
Donaldson was for sentence for an incident in which he got into a police pursuit, drove through a red light, and crashed into a light pole.
Judge O’Driscoll said the woman had been brave to read her victim impact statement in court. He said the two men had acted together as “bullies and thugs”.
He decided he could allow Ennis to serve home detention and sentenced him to four months, with 200 hours of community work and regular judicial monitoring. He read him a first-strike warning.
He sentenced Donaldson to a total of 225 hours of community work, a year’s supervision during which he will have to take counselling or do programmes as required, and 11 months disqualification from driving.
Category: Focus
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Connect
Connect with us via: