Dunedin District Court. PHOTO: ODT FILES A Dunedin man spraying his mother with tomato sauce was reminiscent of a scene from Once Were Warriors, a judge says. Harley Blair Wilson, 33, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to assault, threatening behaviour and breaching community-based sentences. The court heard that on February 16, the defendant was at home with his mother, who was preparing food. An argument broke out after Wilson demanded she get the food ready immediately. The defendant grabbed a plastic bottle of tomato sauce from the fridge and squirted the red condiment over his mother’s face and head. The sauce-covered woman followed Wilson to his bedroom and demanded the house keys from him. He pointed a spray deodorant can at his mother and said ‘‘I’ll spray you if you don’t get out of my face’’. Wilson left the address, but eventually returned and pleaded with his mother to be let inside. When she refused, the defendant picked up a brick and threatened to hurl it through the front window. His mother eventually convinced him to put the brick down, but then Wilson threatened to set the house on fire. The defendant told police he had resorted to the tomato-sauce attack because his mother was trying to hit him. Judge David Robinson said the episode reminded him of a famous New Zealand movie. ‘‘The ‘cook me some eggs’ scene from Once Were Warriors came to mind,’’ he said. The scene in the 1994 film depicts a woman being beaten over her refusal to cook a man some eggs. ‘‘You should be utterly ashamed of yourself for this despicable display,’’ the judge told Wilson. Judge Robinson sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment. ‘‘The court will have little tolerance for repeat behaviour,’’ he warned. felicity.dear@odt.co.nz
