Four-month frenzy: Deportee back in jail after crime spree

Tyrone Thompson Jeffery (23) said he could not remember much of his offending because of his drug and alcohol use. PHOTO: ROB KIDD

An "institutionalised" deportee from Australia is back in prison for a violent home invasion and having sex with a 15-year-old.

Tyrone Shane Thompson Jeffery (23) was sentenced to four years two months’ imprisonment when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court on 12 charges across three incidents during a four-month period this year.

Counsel Meg Scally said her client was one of the many who had been returned from Australia under harsh new deportation laws.

He had done four stints behind bars over there and was now on to his second prison term since being back in New Zealand, she said.

Thompson Jeffery, Ms Scally said, was "institutionalised" and had lost significant support from family and friends when deported.

Early this year, the defendant began communicating with a 15-year-old girl on social media.

After persuading her to dump her boyfriend, he asked the girl to spend the night with him in Dunedin.

She agreed and upon further pressing, the victim said they could sleep in the same bed.

Over the course of the evening, the pair travelled from South Otago to Ranfurly, before reaching Dunedin early on February 14.

The girl, who shared alcohol and cannabis with Thompson Jeffery, recalled waking up during the night as he entered the room and had sex with her.

When the teen later arose, he had gone, leaving her stranded in the city.

She called her mother to pick her up and underwent a forensic medical examination that day.

DNA from swabs taken proved a positive match with Thompson Jeffery, but when interviewed by police he claimed not to know the victim or remember their night together.

The crimes continued.

In April, Thompson Jeffery reached speeds of 150kmh on State Highway1, north of Waikouaiti, as he attempted to evade police.

Officers called off the chase but he was later found by a dog unit hiding in Oamaru, 400m from the abandoned vehicle.

Before being held in custody, Thompson Jeffery had time to commit a home invasion on June 21, the court heard.

Fuelled by methamphetamine and other substances, he burst into a rural South Otago home and immediately began punching a male resident who was lying in bed.

He then assaulted the woman lying next to him and said he was going to the kitchen to get a knife.

As Thompson Jeffery smashed household items, two young children who had been asleep dashed into their parents’ room.

Their presence had no effect on the defendant, who punched their father three times in the head and stole his phone.

He instructed the woman, with the children in tow, to drive him away and before they left he said he threatened to return with a rifle and shoot the man.

Thompson Jeffery’s arrest later that night failed to change his attitude.

He told officers he would return to the address and kill the occupants.

"He stated that he would smash their heads in with a baseball bat. He stated bail conditions would not stop him and police would be unable to stop him," a summary of facts said.

Judge Jim Large banned the defendant from driving for nine months and noted the incarceration meant he would be added to the Child Sex Offender Register.

rob.kidd@odt.co.nz