Peke-Meihana v R

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND PALMERSTON NORTH REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TE PAPAIOEA ROHE

CRI 2019-454-3

[2019] NZHC 642

BETWEEN

ARAMA TE WHETU O TE ATA PEKE- MEIHANA
Appellant

AND

THE QUEEN

Respondent

CRI 2019-454-4

BETWEEN

CAELUM TAHIWI
Appellant

AND

THE QUEEN

Respondent

Hearing:

19 March 2019 via AVL

Counsel:

P L Murray for Mr Peke-Meihana P J Drummond for Mr Tahiwi

K Peirse-O’Byrne for Respondent

Judgment:

29 March 2019

JUDGMENT OF MALLON J

Introduction

[1]    Mr Peke-Meihana and Mr Tahiwi each pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated robbery. They were each sentenced  in  the  Palmerston  North  District  Court  to two years and nine months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $1,626.66 in reparation.1

[2]    They each appeal against their sentence on the basis it is manifestly excessive and that home detention ought to have been imposed. Their appeal was initially on

1      R v Peke-Meihana [2019] NZDC 1791.

PEKE-MEIHANA v R [2019] NZHC 642 [29 March 2019]

the basis that the sentencing judge ought to have followed Reweti v R and applied the discount for their early guilty pleas from the sentencing starting point rather than after all other mitigating factors had been taken into account.2 However, in the course of the hearing, all components which gave rise to the end sentence were addressed.

The offending

[3]    At around 7 pm on 15 June 2018, Mr Tahiwi, Mr Peke-Meihana and a young associate carried out a robbery of a student flat in Palmerston North. The flat was known to Mr Peke-Meihana through his friend, who had lived there until the day before the robbery. This friend had been asked by his flatmates to leave due to concerns over missing property.

[4]    The three offenders knocked on the door of the flat and forced their way in when it was answered. They wore bandanas covering their faces and two of them carried metal bars around 30 cm long. At this time four of the five flatmates were at the house. Three of them were in the lounge. These three were threatened, told to lie on the floor and not to look up, and to give the offenders their unlocked cellphones. One of the three flatmates looked up and was kicked in the head. The fourth flatmate had been in his bedroom. He went into the hall to see what was happening. He was pushed up against a wall and threatened with a metal bar. He was then told to lie on the floor like his flatmates.

[5]    The house was then searched by two of the offenders. The third offender was standing guard over the flatmates, but then retrieved a knife from the kitchen and directed one of the flatmates to walk to his room to get more property. In total, two gaming consoles, three cellphones, two televisions, a laptop and a gold watch were stolen. As the offenders left, one of them told the victims they were going to return with a gun.

[6]…