June 15, 2010

'Young thug' who rammed ambulance jailed

By Anne Clarkson

A man who rammed an ambulance, used a car as a weapon, drove recklessly, and assaulted people was jailed for three years with a non-parole term of of 18 months, in the Christchurch District Court today.

Cody Derek Martin, 22, was sentenced on 15 charges including using a car as a weapon, threatening to kill, wilful damage, assault, and reckless driving. He had pleaded guilty.

Defence counsel Paul Johnson said Martin accepted the summary of facts but had little recollection of the events of March 13.

He said it was a catastrophic drug enraged loss of self-control and reason.

Martin intended self harm by vehicular suicide, and he held a knife to his own throat, he said.

Martin had written letters to the victims and was genuinely remorseful, he said.

Judge Stephen Erber said Martin argued with a friend and punched him in the mouth, loosening his teeth. The victim fled and called an ambulance and the police.

Martin attacked his own car and a neighbour?s fence, then drove the car and crashed it into the front of the ambulance with three people in it.

He drove off and recklessly drove around the streets at speeds of up to 140kmh.

He rammed police cars and when his car was shoved by one he fled on foot carrying a baseball bat.

He was cornered by the police while threatening them with the bat and told them he had a pistol he was going to use. He fought the officers who arrested him.

Judge Erber said Martin had five pages of previous convictions including weapons and grievous bodily harm charges.

He said Martin?s alcohol problem was extremely high and that he had resorted to violence on many occasions.

He was on a curfew for community detention and was in breach of his intensive supervision sentence when he drove the car.

He sentenced Martin to three years prison and said his behaviour was so extreme that one year was not long enough for the protection of the public. He said the ambulance service helped people in emergency situations and did not need young thugs driving cars into them. He added a non-parole term of 18 months to the sentence.

He said he was not ordering reparation for the ambulance, police car, or the injury and trauma suffered by multiple victims.

Martin was disqualified from driving for 18 months.

(An earlier report of the case said that Martin held a knife to another person's throat. This was incorrect. He held it to his own throat.)