Impassioned speech keeps recidivist free

A veteran Dunedin offender with more than 160 convictions has earned an unlikely reprieve after an impassioned speech in court.

Paul Anthony Peter Bell (48) told Judge Russell Walker "the penny’s dropped", after spending 30 years in and out of jail.

"The want to get off the drugs, the want to be a productive member of society has never been greater. I can’t stress that enough," he said.

The judge said he had walked into the Dunedin District Court yesterday planning to send Bell to prison again but had been persuaded otherwise by the defendant and his counsel, Rhona Daysh.

Bell had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated driving while disqualified — taking his running total to 15 — and a burglary of John McGlashan College.

The defendant, and a friend, were at the school’s fete on September 21, the court heard, and entered the chapel where the silent auction was housed.

While the co-offender inquired about an unsold painting, Bell browsed other items and the pair later slipped through an unlocked door at the side of the building.

Up a flight of stairs, they found unlocked rooms and rifled through the belongings with such vigour they broke a desk.

In a bag they stashed: a watch, a bluetooth speaker and charger, a bottle of aftershave, a jacket and an external hard drive.

Bell grabbed an acoustic guitar and perched on the handlebars of a stolen bicycle while his mate pedalled away.

Within a couple of hours, the other man had pawned the bike and speaker for $180.

Six days later, police spoke to Bell and noticed he was wearing the stolen Casio watch.

A search of his home turned up the guitar.

Bell said there was "no point asking him any questions" as he had been taking the drug Rivotril at the time and did not know what he had been doing.

Ms Daysh told the court prison had had a "revolving door" for her client.

Drug abuse had been the recurring theme in Bell’s life and landed him with serious health concerns, she said.

During his speech to Judge Walker, the defendant said he felt let down by Probation and believed he had not received the support that he required to help him overcome his demons.

"I don’t want to be in the cycle of drug abuse," Bell said.

"My grandchildren have grown up and seen nothing of me because I’ve been in and out of jail all my life.

"I’ve come to a point in my life where this is it for me.

"It’s either make or break for me, and I want to make it."

Bell was sentenced to 18 months’ intensive supervision, six months’ community detention and ordered to pay $90 reparation.

The judge opted not to disqualify him, in a bid to remove him from the cycle, and called it "a huge opportunity".

"Should you breach [the sentence], you can expect to go to prison for a lengthy period," Judge Walker said.

 

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