May 26, 2008

Bad assault left victim wandering concussed in the dark

A trial over a late night cannabis deal that turned into a robbery came to a rapid halt in the Christchurch District Court today when the prosecutor and defence lawyers agreed on reduced charges and guilty pleas.

The two young people involved were not the main offenders in the robbery. Instead, they have pleaded guilty to charges of assault with intent to injure and were remanded by Judge Graeme Noble for sentence on July 1.

He granted bail and called for reports on possible home detention and community detention sentences.

But he warned Richard Gareth Sanders, a 20-year-old sales assistant, and Christie Louise Saxon, 19, unemployed, that the reports and the granting of bail did not indicate what their sentence would be.

The principal offender was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to the robbery charge, but crown prosecutor Kathryn Dalziel said he had previous convictions. Sanders and Saxon have clean records.

The jury was empanelled and the victim of the beating gave evidence before the discussions led to the amended indictment and the guilty pleas at midday.

Judge Noble told the jury: ?At the end of the complainant?s evidence, the crown appreciated that they were rather light on proof beyond reasonable doubt about whether there was actually a theft, and this would be a major obstacle for the balance of the trial.

?She was quite correct to take that view. I had come to the same view. The charges have been amended down to charges that are less serious, but nevertheless serious enough.?

Theft is an essential element of a robbery charge.

Discussions took place with defence counsel Richard Peters and April Kelland for Saxon, and Tony Garrett for Sanders.

Earlier, in the crown opening, Miss Dalziel had told the court that the complainant had been drinking at the Redwood Tavern and bumped into Sanders and Saxon and two associates after he left.

The complainant offered them some cannabis which he had at his home. While they walked to a car, there was a discussion about robbing the victim.

They drove to a flat in Johns Road, and then to Dickies Road where they were hanging about, smoking, and chatting.

The crown said Sanders and the main offender again discussed the robbery, and Saxon was ?egging them on?.

The main offender then hit the victim from behind over the head with a bottle of Sambuca while Sanders distracted him. He was repeatedly hit with the bottle as he lay on the ground, and Sanders joined in by kicking him.

He was left there by the group which the crown said took cannabis and tobacco. They returned to pick up the main offender?s cap because he was worried that the police might get DNA samples off it. Even then, they left the victim lying near the Waimakariri River.

The victim eventually got up concussed and confused, and walked around for a couple of hours, making his way from the Waimakariri to the Clearwater Resort where he fell in a lake. A resident helped him when he called out.

He was in hospital for five days with significant injuries to the back of his head. Four front teeth were broken, and he was covered in cuts and grazes.