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Long jail terms for young burglars
Two young men who threatened or assaulted people in the houses they burgled got four year nine month jail terms in the Christchurch District Court today.
Dwayne Roderick Robert Tapine, 23, was sentenced for four charges of burglary, one charge of receiving stolen property, one aggravated assault, and two charges of reckless driving.
Nehemiah Anaru Heta, 21, had five burglary charges, obtaining by deception, and a charge of threatening to do grievous bodily harm.
Judge Stephen Erber said in August 2009 Heta burgled a house where an occupant was asleep with a child in the house. He stole items including a credit card, which he used.
Tapine received some of the stolen items.
Later in August both men burgled a house and ransacked it.
The next day they stole a laptop from a house and when the police came upon them Tapine failed to stop and drove dangerously, he said.
In September Heta broke into a house while a 16-year-old woman was in the shower. She heard him and confronted him and he threatened to seriously harm her, Judge Erber said.
On the same day Tapine broke into a house and when leaving punched the occupier in the nose.
Another address was entered by Tapine in November, and later that day he was pursued by the police. He drove recklessly again.
The probation report said Heta had spent a great deal of his adult life in custody and used cannabis and methamphetamine. He walked out of the interview with the pre-sentence report writer, who recommended a term of imprisonment. He said Heta had a very high risk of reoffending. ??
Tapine expressed remorse and said he was spending his money on methamphetamine.
Judge Erber said not to underestimate what the victims of burglaries went through. He said their security was threatened and the effects could be long-lasting and substantial.
When he sentenced both men to jail he said there was a remote prospect of them paying the reparation of $34,000 and ordered $5000 from each of them.
He then added another three months to Tipene?s sentence and disqualified him from driving for 18 months for the two reckless driving charges.
He refused the crown?s submission for non-parole periods to be imposed.
