A man filling up his car with petrol was attacked by armed gang members because he was wearing red shoes.

One of his attackers, 23-year-old Kevin Ponini, appeared in the Whakatāne District Court on Wednesday for sentencing on convictions of common assault, breaching court release conditions, aggravated robbery, two counts of escaping from police custody and procuring cannabis.

Judge Louis Bidois sentenced him to 28 months in prison.

The assault conviction related to an incident at a service station where Ponini and two associates – one aged 16 and the other a patched gang member like himself – noticed a man wearing a pair of red shoes filling up his car.

The offenders were masked and wearing hoodies. Ponini was armed with a metal rod and his adult co-offender with a small baseball bat.

The trio yelled at the victim; Ponini kicked him in the leg and his teenage associate punched the man in the face.

Ponini and his adult co-offender were seen on CCTV footage giving instructions and guidance to the teen as assaulted the victim.

The victim tried to defuse the situation and ran to the other side of his car to get into it. Once the victim managed to get in the car, the door was opened by force. Ponini and the 16-year-old continued to assault the victim, while the third offender smashed the rear window of the car with his baseball bat.

The offenders took the victim’s shoes, valued at $300.

The victim suffered pain to his body and injury to the right side of his face.

Judge Louis Bidois said once the attack ended, the victim paid for his petrol and left the station. He was not a member of any gang.

Ponini’s lawyer, Leonard Hemi, said his client lacked role models and stability in his childhood.

“If someone is wearing a certain colour shirt or shoes, what gives them the right to assault, accost or rob them?” Judge Bidois asked.

“Nothing. It’s pathetic, but my client has had no parental guidance to tell him it’s pathetic,” Mr Hemi said.

“They know the difference between right and wrong – this man was just filing up his car. The victim was totally innocent,” Judge Bidois said.

Mr Hemi said his client was motivated to change after the recent birth of his daughter and had written a letter of apology to the court and the victim.

In sentencing Ponini to prison, Judge Bidois urged him to get the support he needed.

Parking times lead to vehicle paint damage

A pataka kai supplier has been sentenced to community work after painting yellow parking lines on the road, which led to an incident in which he took scissors to a person’s car.

David Pouwhare was convicted of wilful damage to a road, intentional damage of a vehicle, and breach of bail.

He represented himself in court.

Pouwhare also faces a charge of intimidation to which he pleaded not guilty and has been remanded for case review on October 23.

Pouwhare told the court that for the past three years, he and his team had been running 19 pataka from Murupara to Te Teko, providing food to people in need.

He said his property in Whakatāne had a car park next to his driveway and the pataka, and the parked vehicles would block his and his neighbour’s view of the road as they exited.

“Every morning, we would be blind to the traffic zooming past,” he said.

His first attempt at solving the problem was to leave “kind notes” on people’s windows, asking them not to park in that location, which he said people ignored.

Then, he went to the transfer station and found some free paint, which “just happened to be yellow”.

“I took it upon myself to paint some yellow lines,” he said.

Judge Bidois showed a photo of the result to the court.

“You must have made a stencil Mr Pouwhare, because those yellow lines are pretty good,” he said.

“I’ll tell you what – it worked,” Pouwhare said.

For a while, no-one parked there, then a neighbour told a woman that Pouwhare was responsible for painting the lines, not the council.

When Pouwhare asked the woman not to park there, she told him she knew he had painted the lines.

Pouwhare said the woman knocked on his door loudly, which gave him a fright and “triggered” him.

“She tried to break down my door, so I scratched her paint,” he said.

He took a pair of scissors to the car while it was parked outside his house in his self-imposed no parking spot.

Judge Bidois said the damage to the paint was extensive.

“You shouldn’t have done that. I understand your frustration, and good work with the pataka, but don’t do it again,” Judge Bidois said.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Not guilty pleas entered

Tui Ratahi appeared in Whakatāne District Court on Wednesday to plead on four charges.

He was charged with disorderly behaviour, three counts of threatening to kill, two counts of resisting police, and one of assaulting police.

Ratahi pleaded not guilty to the threatening charges and the assault of police.

On the remaining charges, he was remanded without plea.

He will return to court for a case review on November 7.

Kidnapping charge further remanded

A Papatoetoe man facing a charge of kidnapping has been remanded for an electronically monitored bail application.

Te Uira Eruera, 30, is charged with two counts of contravening a protection order by committing physical and psychological abuse on a complainant.

His lawyer, Steve Franklin, said Eruera wanted to apply for EM bail.

Eruera also has charges of assaulting a person in a family relationship, threatening to kill and contravening a protection order, laid in the Manukau court.

Judge Bidois remanded Eruera without plea until September 20 for EM bail application.

Pleas entered and charges withdrawn

Morris Matenga has pleaded to a series of drug, violence and dishonesty charges.

He has pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of a listed qualifying drug, possession of an offensive weapon, two counts of possession of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of ammunition, receiving property valued at over $1000, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of prohibited magazines, and wilful damage of a police vehicle.

His lawyer, Leonard Hemi, said Matenga had a defence for a charge of possessing cannabis for supply and pleaded not guilty. A judge-alone trial on this charge is set for February 14.

Police withdrew five charges against Matenga, including possession of a pipe used for methamphetamine, unlawfully possessing ammunition, receiving property valued over $1000, receiving property valued between $500 and $1000, and unlawfully carrying a firearm.

Matenga applied for electronically monitored bail but this was denied.

Further disqualification for driving while disqualified

Sukhwinder Singh has been charged with two driving while disqualified charges.

His lawyer, Whare Hika, said Singh pleaded guilty to one change and not guilty to the other.

He had been caught driving without first obtaining a zero-alcohol licence.

Judge Bidois said Singh had benefitted from a section 94 exception to being disqualified three times previously for prior offending, and this was his fifth time being charged with driving while disqualified.

Singh was sentenced on the charge, to which he pleaded guilty.

Judge Bidois told the court Singh had been found driving only three weeks after he had been formally disqualified.

He disqualified Singh from driving for a further 12 months and sentenced him to nine months of supervision.

Intensive supervision for threatening to kill

Kaitiana Thrupp has been sentenced following an intimidation conviction.

Thrupp was convicted of threatening to kill and two counts of breaching release conditions.

For threatening to kill, Judge Bidois sentenced Thrupp to 12 months' intensive supervision and ordered him to pay $400 emotional harm reparation.

For the two breaching release conditions, Thrupp was ordered to come up if called upon for six months.

EM bail granted

Manue Savage has pleaded not guilty to two burglary charges.

He is charged with burglary of property valued at over $1000, and burglary of property valued less than $500.

Judge Bidois granted Savage electronically monitored bail with “strict conditions”.

He was remanded until October 16 for case review.

Imprisonment for possession

Douglas Tarei has been sentenced to imprisonment after pleading guilty to three charges.

Tarei was convicted of possession of an offensive weapon, possession of utensils used for meth, and procuring meth.

Initially, Tarei was charged with an additional count of possession of an offensive weapon, but this was withdrawn by police.

Judge Bidois sentenced Tarei to four months’ imprisonment.