A judge delivered an anti-meth warning as he jailed four offenders for a disastrous night time home invasion and robbery at Springston, southwest of Christchurch.
The invasion was carried out to recover a debt from an alleged rip-off by a man who had spent a week sleeping on the couch at the rural address.
He wasn’t home but the residents were terrified by masked intruders with weapons, and after arrests at the end of the two police car chases that followed, jail terms totalling more than 16 years were imposed at the Christchurch District Court sentencing today.
Judge Stephen O’Driscoll told the four they should “learn from this” and forget about drugs, and never get involved in anything like this again.
He said methamphetamine was “an addictive and dangerous drug” and he told the group: “All of this is because of the downward spiral that drugs, particularly methamphetamine, can take you on.”
The four had turned up at the address at 1am on March 27, waking and confronting the four occupants. The intruders had a metal bar, a knife, and an imitation pistol. Threats were made, there was an assault, and questions were asked about the man who had been staying there. The occupants’ cellphones were taken and phone lines were cut.
One of the group announced that $1300 worth of property would be taken because that was the value of the alleged rip-off.
One of the occupants managed to call the police on a cellphone that had not been taken, and as the intruders left, the police arrived and chased two cars in separate pursuits.
Joshua James Watkinson, 21, was jailed for four years nine months and disqualified from driving for 29 months, for aggravated robbery, and driving charges including dangerous driving and failing to stop.
Paratene Forreste Guy Aupouri, 27, was jailed for four years two months, for the robbery and a breach of a community work sentence. Judge O’Driscoll said his offending had continued unabated for 10 years.
Douglas Anaru Lockley, 21, was jailed for three years and five months on just the aggravated robbery charge. He had one previous burglary conviction but was described by probation as being “naïve and vulnerable”.
Katherine Pamela Allison, 21, was a first offender but she had taken cellphones and cut phone lines, and had driven one of the cars in the chases that followed. She had not been a minor player, said the judge, jailing her for three years ten months and disqualifying her from driving for 18 months on charges including dangerous driving and failing to stop. She had also admitted drugs charges.
All four were given first strike warnings under the system that imposes heavier penalties on repeat violent offenders.
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