A man who threatened a mechanic and his mother — aged in her 70s — with a loaded crossbow has been sentenced to home detention.
The incident was just one part of a crime spree that 24-year-old Sean Jonathan Buis committed over 18 months.
It began with a road rage incident in July 2016, Judge John Macdonald told the Dunedin District Court this week.
Buis closely followed another vehicle, sounding his horn and swerving between two lanes.
When they stopped at an intersection, the defendant hurled profanities at the victim.
The next time, he got out, repeated the rant and banged on the person’s window.The third time Buis stopped, he spat on the victim’s window.
"You drove very badly, you got very angry and something much worse could easily have happened," the judge said.
Among a raft of other crimes, some of which were committed while Buis was on bail, he was also convicted of the burglary of a student flat.
He denied taking the laptop and basketball jersey but his fingerprints were found at the scene and he was found guilty at a judge-alone trial.
Buis was also scheduled to defend the two charges of assault with a weapon, following the December 2017 crossbow incident. But he pleaded guilty a week before a scheduled jury trial.
Judge Macdonald said the victim had done repair work on Buis’ vehicle, which resulted in an angry exchange.
The defendant wound his window down, the victim came over and he pulled out the weapon.
The judge said the experience had quite an impact on the man and his elderly mother.
Crown prosecutor Craig Power said it was particularly telling that the victim was someone who normally would not contact the police, yet he was so concerned about Buis he did so.
Defence counsel Deborah Henderson said her client had been in prison for more than six months on remand while his parents looked after his young child. He was motivated to address his anger and drug issues, the court heard.
Judge Macdonald accepted Buis was genuinely remorseful and sentenced him to five months’ home detention.
