They found the pair parked on the side of the road. As her brother came towards the car the woman got out and limped towards him. Karaitiana eventually approached his partner s brother “aggressively”, carrying a knife, and lunged at him. The woman s brother was struck twice on the forearm and left with a small puncture wound. The court heard that while on bail for the assaults, Karaitiana and two others obtained a Volkswagon Golf. A separate Crown summary stated two of the males, including the defendant, displayed Black Power gang insignia on their faces by way of tattoos when they took the vehicle.
Christina Persico19:00, May 10 2021
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A former police officer who stole $4000 has been granted name suppression in the New Plymouth District Court. (file photo)
A former Taranaki police officer who admitted stealing $4000 which had been handed in by a member of the public has been allowed to keep their identity secret. But Judge Tony Greig said while police had taken a particularly lenient position in this case, anyone who thought the offender had been let off lightly due to their job was wrong. “I have over the last 30 or 40 years known of a number of cases where police watchhouse keepers have gone to prison for stealing much smaller sums of money than this, and I know that the police are hard on their own and they view this sort of offending as particularly serious,” he told the New Plymouth District Court.
Weston’s home was subsequently cordoned off and searched by armed officers. He turned himself in several hours later. In explanation to police, he admitted he was furious and had gone to the address to deal with the male victim. In court, he faced sentence on four admitted charges – aggravated burglary and intentional damage in relation to the incident, and, in a separate matter, assault on a person in a family relationship and breach of supervision. Defence lawyer Julian Hannam pleaded for a sentence of home detention. He said Weston’s offending was linked to his violent upbringing and provided a cultural report to prove so.
But Strong grabbed the man by the scruff of his shirt and shoved him into the wall of a shop, a police summary of facts detailed. The victim made a second attempt to walk away, but Strong grabbed the man by his torso and threw him onto the tiled floor. The impact of hitting his head and upper body resulted in the man being knocked unconscious and breaking his clavicle.
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Strong appeared in New Plymouth District Court on Thursday in relation to both matters. Bystanders intervened and assisted the victim as Strong briefly continued to pin the unconscious man to the floor.