A youth who took part in a gang bashing and robbery in a Christchurch street told a probation officer he thought it was "cool", a court has been told.
Tuari Damyn Karipa-Rangi, 17, was sentenced at Christchurch District Court today for two years and two months in prison for aggravated robbery.
References presented in court described Karipa-Rangi as "an amazing young man", with a natural instinct to support others.
But he told the probation officer before his sentencing that on the night he and the YSK youth gang bashed and robbed two men in Lincoln Road, Christchurch: "I thought I was cool, trying to be a big man."
Karipa-Rangi, who had been visiting Christchurch from his home in Tokoroa, and other members of the gang set upon the two victims as they walked home beneath the Lincoln Road motorway overbridge about 2am on April 18.
Karipa-Rangi and another youth were armed with a piece of timber and a cricket wicket and the rest of the gang joined in as the men were hit, punched, kicked and robbed.
One had his jaw broken, was knocked unconscious and needed 10 stitches to head wounds. The other had stitches and bruising on his face.
The gang walked off calling out that they had "scored".
Karipa-Rangi was found with one of the wallets from the robbery.
Defence counsel Kerry Cook said Karipa-Rangi was not the leader of the group and was genuinely remorseful.
His client wanted to express his apology to the victims in open court.
Judge Erber said: "The level of street violence whether in the form of aggravated robbery or only a desire to hurt people, or whether racially motivated, is becoming so common that I think the court must be very firm in resisting a lenient approach.
"Most of this behaviour is committed by youths, many of them aged under 16.
"Many of the attacks on people in the street are made by persons who claim to be some sort of gang. Almost all of these sorts of people have been drinking heavily, or are on drugs, have weapons, and the violence is often unrestrained and highly dangerous."
The judge noted the references handed to the court, and wondered if people who had written them would have given as much support if they had seen the summary of facts.
Karipa-Rangi's family wept in the public gallery as he was led away to start his jail sentence.
