Two young men have been jailed, and another narrowly avoided imprisonment, for the aggravated robbery of a stranger in North Dunedin.
Zenyata Thomson (18), Wheke Kawana (21) and Maurice Kim Wereta (19) were jointly charged with the aggravated robbery of a Dunedin man in Albany St on December 5.
Thomson and Kawana were jailed when they appeared before Judge Kevin Phillips in the Dunedin District Court yesterday. Wereta was sentenced to home detention.
Kawana faced a further two charges - one of injuring with intent to injure and one of assault - relating to attacks on two inmates at the Otago Corrections Facility.
The trio were sitting in a parked BMW in Albany St about 4am on December 5, when the victim walked past.
Thomson got out of the car, grabbed the victim by his T-shirt and pushed him against a wall, the summary of facts said.
Thomson demanded the victim empty his pockets and hand over his backpack.
Kawana and Wereta stood on either side of Thomson as he made his demands and the victim's possessions were handed to one of the pair.
They stole the victim's bank card, driver's licence, two T-shirts, a tin of hair gum, an empty cigarette pack and the backpack.
Wereta told police he was unaware of what was happening, and that Thomson approached the victim and returned with the backpack. The group threw the backpack from their car after leaving the scene, the summary said.
The other two offenders refused to comment to police.
Only the hair gum and empty cigarette pack were recovered.
While being held in custody at the Otago Corrections Facility, Kawana attacked two prisoners, leading to his further charges.
On March 9, he attacked a prisoner while they were walking together in a locked yard.
He punched the victim in the head, knocking him to the ground, the summary of facts said.
"He then crouched over the victim and delivered a flurry of punches to his head,'' it said.
"The victim's screams for help were heard by a female prison guard, who made her way to the yard and ordered the defendant to stop.
"The defendant briefly looked up at the guard before turning back to the victim and repeatedly punching him in the face with both his left and right fists.''
During the assault, he said words to the effect of "this is for Micky'', but the victim did not know Kawana.
As the guard came closer to the yard, Kawana punched the victim four more times before "casually'' walking away, out of a gate and explaining his actions to prison staff.
"After a short discussion with staff, the defendant realised that he had mistakenly assaulted the wrong man,'' the summary said.
The victim suffered a swollen and blackened left eye and the left side of his face was swollen and sore.
Two months later, Kawana assaulted a second prisoner, leading to the charge of assault.
In sentencing the trio, Judge Phillips said all three defendants were equally culpable for the aggravated robbery.
"Mr Thomson may have been the man with his hand on the collar [of the victim], but each of you were there intimidating and ensuring the demands were followed,'' Judge Phillips said.
"To be walking along Albany St and be set upon as he was is a terrible thing.
"He had done nothing at all. He had every right to be there.''
Thomson was jailed for one year and nine months.
Wereta was sentenced to five months' home detention, to be served at his sister's Gisborne home, and 150 hours' community work.
Kawana was a jailed for two years and nine months, his previous convictions and attacks on prisoners having been taken into account.
He was sentenced to 12 months' jail on the charge of injuring with intent to injure and three months' jail for the assault, both sentences to be served concurrently with the sentence for aggravated robbery.
Judge Phillips told Kawana he was "throwing his life down the toilet''.
"You have 13 convictions in four years and over those four years you were in prison for two to three years of it,'' he said.
"You see violence as an appropriate way to resolve disputes.
"You are 21 years of age. You have your whole life ahead of you.''
