Home detention for vicious assault

The Herald reports:

A teen who took part in a violent and unprovoked street attack, king hitting one of his victims, has narrowly avoided jail after a judge ruled it would not be the “just” outcome.

Just? Just for who? The victim?

Hunia did the following:

• King hit the victim to the ground – a stranger in an unprovoked assault
• Continued the attack, punching and kicking him to the head while he lay on the ground
• turned around and headed back to continue assaulting both men
• One of the men suffered a swollen face, memory loss; the other had cuts to his eyeball and cheek, two broken teeth, a cut tongue, and memory loss among his injuries.

So this was not a moment of madness, or a situation with provocation. He just viciously assaulted a total stranger for no reason and kept kicking and punching him while on the ground.

The Crown sought a starting point of five years’ imprisonment.

Both the Crown and defence agreed a discount of 20% for Hunia’s guilty plea was appropriate, and the judge adopted a starting point of four years’ and nine months’ imprisonment.

The judge said there needed to be a clear message sent, particularly when efforts were being made to revitalise Tauranga’s CBD, that those who came looking for trouble, could expect “an appropriate response”.

Hunia’s lawyer Nephi Pukepuke advocated that this sentencing principle could be achieved by a sentence of home detention.

Judge Coyle reached an end sentence, after applying discounts for guilty plea, youth, and remorse, of two years and 10 months imprisonment.

So the sentence went from 57 months to 34 months – a reduction of 43%.

But even after that he should have had a custodial sentence.

The judge decided that despite it falling outside the two-year window where home detention can be imposed, he would exercise his discretion.

There had been authority given by the higher courts for judges to take a step back and consider what the “just” outcome is.

He said if he sent him to prison he had no doubt he would be surrounded by people who would tear him down and support him in making “bad choices”, convincing him violence and criminal activity were normal.

“I’m not going to do that, Mr Hunia,” Judge Coyle said.

The judge urged him to not become the sort of person who would just “beat the crap” out of someone, but rather would put this mistake behind him and never repeat it.

He already is the sport of people who would just beat the crap out of someone. He did it. The notion that he doesn’t already see violence as normal is bizarre.

The judge sentenced him to 12 months home detention, and told him it would be hard for him.

To those who thought of home detention as a “weak sentence”, the judge referred to Covid-19, and the reality of lockdowns.

While people had been able to go out for walks, or to the supermarket, that wouldn’t be the case for Hunia.

“You cannot go out for a walk, you cannot go to the dairy down the road, you cannot go outside of your property.

Oh he can’t go to the dairy. Instead he just has his mates or family go to the dairy for him. How tough.

“That will relax over time, but for you as a young person used to getting out and socialising with your mates, this will be a hard sentence, and it should be.”

Yes such a hard sentence. The parties will just be held at his place instead.

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