Hunt v R - [2024] NZCA 10

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND

I TE KŌTI PĪRA O AOTEAROA

CA423/2022
[2024] NZCA 10

BETWEEN	DION JAMES HUNT Appellant
AND	THE KING Respondent

CA424/2022
BETWEEN	ADA SHARON PUE Appellant
AND	THE KING Respondent

Hearing:	5 October 2023
Court:	Katz, Palmer and Jagose JJ
Counsel:	R A A Weir for Appellant in CA423/2022 S L Abdale for Appellant in CA424/2022 M R L Davie for Respondent
Judgment:	12 February 2024 at 10.00 am

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The appeals are dismissed.

____________________________________________________________________

REASONS OF THE COURT

(Given by Palmer J)

Mr Dion Hunt and his partner, Ms Ada Pue, were convicted of possessing methamphetamine for supply and supplying methamphetamine in Taranaki in 2017. They were each sentenced to five years and five months’ imprisonment with a 50 per cent minimum period of imprisonment (MPI).[1] Ms Pue appeals her conviction and sentence. Mr Hunt appeals his sentence. None of the grounds of appeal succeed, for the reasons provided below.

What happened?

[1]R v Hunt [2022] NZDC 13894 [sentencing notes].

On 6 July 2017, the police observed Mr Hunt meet Mr Tony Pue, Ms Pue’s son, at a McDonald’s carpark in New Plymouth. Mr Pue got out of his vehicle, approached Mr Hunt, got into Mr Hunt’s vehicle for a short period of time, and went back to his own vehicle. Shortly afterwards, the police stopped Mr Pue and found a total of 33.79 grams of methamphetamine:
(a)9.19 grams of methamphetamine was located on his person in four snap lock bags (6.7 grams of 80 per cent purity, 819 milligrams of 78 per cent purity, 819 milligrams of 80 per cent purity, 848 milligrams of 80 per cent purity);[2] and
(b)24.6 grams of brown-coloured methamphetamine of 73 per cent purity, was located in a snap lock bag in the vehicle.[3]
[2]This is equivalent to 7.32 grams of pure methamphetamine.
[3]This is equivalent to 17.95 grams of pure methamphetamine.
On 27 July 2017, the police executed a search warrant at the rural Taranaki property of Mr Hunt and Ms Pue. The police intercepted a telephone call from Ms Pue to Mr Hunt when she realised the police were executing the search warrant, saying “Dion get those plates”. In a plastic container by the fence line, the police found 24.2 grams of methamphetamine with a purity of 80 per cent.[4] They found smashed glass cookware on the grass outside the house with traces of methamphetamine on it. They also seized, as apparent in the exhibit schedule, $4,695.60 in cash.
[4]This is equivalent to 19.3 grams of pure methamphetamine.
In May 2022, in the District Court at New Plymouth, Mr Hunt and Ms Pue stood trial before Judge Greig and a jury on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine for supply, and supplying methamphetamine. Mr Hunt and Ms Pue denied any involvement in the offending. Neither gave evidence. At trial, as discussed further below, the Crown successfully applied to dismiss the charge of manufacturing methamphetamine.[5] On 1 June 2022, the jury…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Hunt v R

Details

AGLC: Hunt v R [2024] NZCA 10
Case: [2024] NZCA 10
Decision Date: 12 February 2024 at 10.00 am

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, Dion James Hunt and Ada Sharon Pue appealed their convictions and sentences for possessing and supplying methamphetamine in Taranaki in 2017. The convictions and sentences were affirmed by the Court. Ms Pue contested the admissibility of propensity evidence related to past convictions, the fairness of amending charges during the trial, and the sufficiency of evidence for her conviction. Mr Hunt focused on the appropriateness of his sentence, arguing it was excessive and not supported by the evidence. The Court of Appeal found that the propensity evidence was admissible and relevant, the amendment of charges did not prejudice the defence, and there was sufficient evidence to convict Ms Pue. Regarding sentencing, the Court held that the Judge was entitled to consider the trial evidence over the plea agreement, and the sentences were not manifestly excessive. The appeals were dismissed.

Orders