A Spring Hill prisoner who helped light fires during a prison riot that caused millions of dollars worth of damage has been sentenced to home detention.
Lewis Hapi Taiaroa was last month found guilty of arson, but not guilty of riotous behaviour and assault with a weapon.
In the High Court at Auckland this morning he was sentenced to 12 months home detention with a series of special conditions, including a ban on drugs and alcohol and an order to stay away from gang members and other prisoners involved in the riot.
During his defence, Taiaroa claimed he was forced to participate in the June 2013 riot at the north Waikato corrections facility under threat from other prisoners.
Taiaroa was captured on CCTV footage picking up toilet rolls and carrying them towards another prisoner who was in the process of fuelling the main fire.
He was also spotted with a small group of inmates using a metal volleyball pole as a "battering ram" against a staff base window, and at various pointes striking the window and surrounding walls with lengths of wood and a metal object.
"I am satisfied that Mr Taiaroa believed that, if he were not to participate in the riot, some of those prisoners would (colloquially, speaking) 'give him the bash'," Justice Paul Heath said in his written judgement when issuing his guilty verdict.
"I find that he harboured a genuine belief that threats of immediate grievous bodily harm were being made against him and would be carried out."
The mass brawl at unit 16B was one of the worst in New Zealand history, and saw prisoners smash windows and furniture to pieces and fashion them into weapons to cause further damage. A group of inmates broke into the guard room and attacked an officer with a metal volleyball pole. A number of fires were started in the prison, including a huge blaze in the middle of the compound.
It was sparked by the discovery of two containers of 'homebrew' by prison staff.
The cost of the eight-hour rampage topped $10 million.
More than 20 prisoners were charged with serious offences in relation to the riot.
