Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections v Eruera

[2016] NZHC 1280

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND ROTORUA REGISTRY

CRI-2016-063-001738 [2016] NZHC 1280

BETWEEN

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS Applicant

AND

HYACIN ERUERA Respondent

Hearing:	14 June 2016
Appearances:	G C Hollister-Jones for Applicant H Edward for Respondent
Judgment:	14 June 2016

ORAL JUDGMENT OF GILBERT J

Solicitors/Counsel:

Ronayne Hollister-Jones, Tauranga

Harry Edward Law, Rotorua

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS v ERUERA [2016] NZHC 1280 [14 June 2016]

[1]      On 23 March 2016 Ms Eruera was sentenced to 11 months’ home detention after having been found guilty on a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

[2]      Ms Eruera has breached the conditions of home detention in three respects:

(a)      On 18 May 2016, Ms Eruera was issued with an Approved Absence to leave her address at 8.00 am to travel to the Tauranga Family Court and then to a car sales yard at Mt Maunganui for the purposes of picking up a vehicle.  She was then to travel directly back to her home address.    She deviated from this permitted absence between approximately 12.34 pm and 1.06 pm when she visited the address of

49D Coopers Road, Tauranga without approval.

(b)On 20 May 2016, Ms Eruera was issued with an Approved Absence to leave her address and travel by car to her bank in Rotorua and to Pak N Save in Fenton Street, Rotorua.   She was to return to her home detention  address  before  1.00  pm.    Ms Eruera  deviated  from  this Approved Absence between 10.51 am and 11.41 am by travelling to multiple addresses in the Rotorua central business district, by going to

23 Miller  Street,  Rotorua  and  by  going  to  the  Mourea  Dairy  at approximately 1.14 pm.  She did not return to her home address until

1.26 pm.

(c)       On 26 May 2016, Ms Eruera was found in possession of cannabis.

She  has  pleaded  guilty  to  this  charge  and  was  sentenced  to  four

weeks’ imprisonment last Friday.

[3]      Mr Edwards advises that although Ms Eruera accepts that she departed from her Approved Absences on 18 and 20 May 2016, she says she notified the Probation Officer before doing so and assumed that this would be in order.  Had those been the only breaches, the Court might have been inclined not to cancel the sentence of home detention and to give Ms Eruera a further opportunity of completing that sentence.

[4]     However, as Mr Edwards responsibly acknowledges, the conviction for possession of cannabis demonstrates a serious breach of a fundamental condition of the sentence.   In these circumstances, I consider that the application made by the Probation  Officer  for  cancellation  of  the  sentence  pursuant  to  s  80F  of  the Sentencing Act 2002 should be granted.

[5]      Taking into account the time Ms Eruera has served on home detention, which commenced on 23 March 2016 and is broadly equivalent to four months’ imprisonment, I substitute a sentence of one year and seven months’ imprisonment commencing today.   This is to be served concurrently with the sentence of four weeks’ imprisonment imposed last Friday on the charge of possession of cannabis.

[6]      Ms Eruera is convicted and discharged on the two charges of breaching the terms of her sentence of home detention by deviating from the Approved Absences

on 18 and 20 May 2016.

M .A. Gilbert J