Trouble began for Kevin Teriini when he was about to mow his lawn and heard screaming coming from a property down the road.

It was coming from next door to where his children were and he wanted it to stop for their sake, lawyer Lisa Ebbers told the Whakatāne District Court on Wednesday.

Teriini appeared on charges of common assault and speaking threateningly, to which he pleaded guilty.

The assault involved him throwing a piece of chalk at a woman’s back.

Ms Ebbers said he had been trying to get the attention of the woman involved in the outburst.

She threatened him, and he responded with threats.

She said Teriini knew he responded in the wrong way and hadn’t dealt with the situation well.

Judge Louis Bidois noted that Teriini’s threat was “I’ll come and finish the job and kill you”. However, Ms Ebbers said he disputed using these words.

In sentencing him to 120 hours of community work and $100 reparation, Judge Bidois told Teriini that it was the middle of the afternoon and he should not have gone and put his 10 cents worth in. He just made things worse.

“Next thing it is out of control and it is pack mentality.

“If you had concerns about your children, you should have gone down there and made sure they were safe.”

Prison for pistol possession

Gerome Piki Lee Heemi has been sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of unlawfully possessing a pistol and drink-driving.

Police withdrew a charge of breaching a protection order.

Heemi, 38, of Palmerston North, had a breath alcohol level of 475 micrograms when stopped by police on January 1.

The legal limit for driving is 250mcg per litre of breath.

A pistol and ammunition was found in his vehicle.

Judge Bidois also disqualified him from driving for 12 months and one day.

HD appendix ordered

Christian Cobb pleaded guilty to a charge of impeding breathing after police withdrew a second charge of assault on a person in a family relationship.

Judge Bidois called for a home detention appendix to be prepared ahead of Cobb’s sentencing on April 15.

Bail granted

Judge Bidois granted Bradley Hori Te Pa bail to a Wellington address when he appeared via audio visual link.

Te Pa has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and impeding breathing, and has elected trial by jury.

He will appear for case review on March 18.

‘Go when you are told’ – judge

When Judge Bidois asked Allen Tawhai what he had learned during his month in custody following his arrest for breaching a protection order, he said “to keep my mouth shut”.

“And to go when you are told,” the judge added.

“You’ve had a month in custody, which has been a salutory lesson for this breach,” he said.

“You were told to leave – you should have left. You were too drunk.”

He sentenced Tawhai to 100 hours’ community work and ordered him to pay $250 emotional harm reparation for the psychological abuse he inflicted.

Objectionable material charges

A 36-year-old Kawerau man is facing more than 40 charges of knowingly distributing objectionable videoes.

The man, who has interim name suppression, will appear for case review on May 21.

The charges relate to incidents dated December 21, 2023, October 27, 2024, and November 13, 2024.

Festive alcohol relapse

After not drinking alcohol for a couple of years, Gregory Peterson relapsed over Christmas and ended up arrested.

The 43-year-old Bowentown man was in Whakatāne for Christmas and after drinking became quite angry.

He pleaded guilty to assault on a person in a family relationship and speaking threateningly.

His lawyer, Lisa Ebbers, asked for a sentence of supervision with conditions to help him with his alcohol and anger issues.

Judge Bidois sentenced him to nine months’ supervision and ordered him to pay emotional harm reparation of $300.

‘I’ll do my community work’ – defendant

Harmony Whatarau was given a community work sentence in lieu of a driving disqualification – then failed to do the community work.

Judge Bidois gave her two options when she appeared for a breach of community work and two charges of shoplifting.

Either she does the community work sentence, or he cancels it and imposes the 12 months’ disqualification that she would otherwise have received on the driving charges.

Whatarau was quick to assure him she would do the community work.

On the shoplifting charges, she was fined $300 plus court costs and ordered to pay reparation of $444.99 and $472.44 for the goods stolen, which Judge Bidois noted was not “essentials” but health and beauty items and clothing.

Assault with a broom

“You should be protecting your children, not hitting them,” Judge Bidois told a Waimana man who struck his son with a broom.

Jayden Rangitaia Matiaha Brown, 28, pleaded guilty to assault with a blunt instrument and was fined $300, with $150 in emotional harm reparation ordered.

The court heard that his children had been doing chores on October 11, and Brown was not happy with their progress.

He provided some instructions, which the eight-year-old victim, who has hearing issues, did not hear.

Brown struck him three times with the broom. The child was wearing a thick jacket so was uninjured, but was very distressed.

Knuckledusters found after driver flees

A disqualified driver from Kawerau who led police on a chase in a stolen vehicle last year, has been sentenced to home detention.

Wayne Henshaw, 58, appeared for sentence on charges of driving while disqualified, failing to stop, possession of a weapon and receiving.

The court heard that Henshaw, a seven-time disqualified driver, failed to stop for police on August 26 and instead fled in a stolen Toyota Hilux ute.

Police followed before abandoning the chase.

Henshaw drove onto a bush track and ran off. Police found knuckledusters in the vehicle along with some cannabis.

He was sentenced to five months’ home detention.

$250 donation to charity

Andrae Kiwi is not a gang member, according to his lawyer, but he was wearing a Mongrel Mob hat.

The 22-year-old Rotorua man was charged with the prohibited display of gang insignia and will return to court on March 18 for sentence.

Judge Bidois indicated his expectations of Kiwi ahead of that appearance.

He must write a letter confirming he will surrender the hat for destruction.

He must also write a letter of apology and make a $250 donation to a charity of his choice.

Home detention

After receiving a sentence indication of home detention, Robert Luckman pleaded guilty to failing to stop, escaping police custody, receiving a motor vehicle, possession of utensils and five charges of driving while disqualified.

The charges related to various incidents that occurred in Kawerau and Whakatāne between November and January.

He was sentenced to five months’ home detention and disqualified from driving for 12 months from September, when his existing disqualification ends.

Prison for violence

Fabian Turner’s lawyer urged the judge to consider a community-based outcome for his client, who appeared for sentence on a charge of assault on a person in a family relationship.

Paul Devoy said Turner had already been in custody for two months and was keen to look at a sentence that would keep him in the community.

But Judge Bidois said the community approach had been tried in the past and instructing Turner to complete programmes would not work until he changed his attitude to women and his partner, and gave her the respect she deserved.

“It has only been a short relationship and here he is, whacking her around – like he has done in previous relationships.”

He said Turner needed to seek the help himself. “If you go and do it yourself, it is more likely to succeed because you want to do it.”

He sentenced the 44-year-old Whaka-tāne man to six months in prison with release conditions that would provide him with help and support.

He urged Turner to see Waiariki Whanāu Mentoring or Mataatua iwi services to seek help for his violence.

Delete, don’t smash

Instead of deleting his private information from the phone he was borrowing, Samson Jack Lolohea decided to smash the phone to keep the information safe.

The 54-year-old Kawerau man pleaded guilty to intentional damage of the cellphone and was fined $350 plus court costs. He must also pay reparation of $180 for the phone.

His lawyer, Helen Gould, told the court Lolohea did not have a phone and was using one belonging to the complainant. There was information on there that he didn’t want her to see, so he smashed it.

“You shouldn’t put your stuff on other people’s phones,” Judge Bidois told him.

“If you do, delete it. Don’t go and smash it.”

Supervision sentence

With the time he has spent in custody, Te Rangi Honana would effectively end up with a sentence of time served on charges of assault on a person in a family relationship, resisting police, possession of a weapon and behaving threatening.

Judge Bidois instead sentenced him to 12 months’ supervision, saying “make sure you make the most of this opportunity to get some help”.

He also ordered $300 emotional harm reparation and issued a protection order.

Chance for rehab

Tommy Turoa Rangitakatu has been given the opportunity to change his life with a home detention sentence to be served at the Grace Foundation rehabilitation centre.

The 45-year-old Te Teko man appeared for sentence on charges of burglary, unlawfully interferring with a motor vehicle and wilful damage of a metal pole.

He was sentenced to three months’ home detention and ordered to pay $500 reparation for the damage caused to the vehicle.

Judge Bidois told Rangitakatu that he was not in a position to impose a lengthy sentence but urged him to stay at the Grace Foundation beyond the three months and take advantage of the programmes offered.

“Get in there and try and stay as long as you can,” he said.