R v Cuff - [2023] NZHC 2394

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND HAMILTON REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA KIRIKIRIROA ROHE

CRI-2023-419-23

[2023] NZHC 2394

THE KING

v

MATANGIRAU CUFF

Hearing: 30 August 2023

Appearances:

A Alcock for the Crown

J M Kin for the Defendant

Sentencing:

30 August 2023

SENTENCING NOTES OF WOOLFORD J

Solicitors:Hamilton Legal (Office of the Crown Solicitor), Hamilton Bloem & Associates, Auckland

R v MATANGIRAU CUFF [2023] NZHC 2394 [30 August 2023]

Introduction

[1] Mr Cuff, you appear for sentence today having pleaded guilty to one representative charge each of riotous damage,1 arson,2 and assault with a weapon.3 I gave a sentence indication on 4 October last year of eight years and seven months’ imprisonment, which you accepted on 18 October 2022.4

[2] The background to your offending is outlined in the sentence indication decision, a copy of which is annexed to these notes. In brief, you were involved in the Waikeria Prison riots while remanded in custody at the prison.

[3] The offending took place over a period of six days from 29 December 2020 until 3 January 2021. During that period, you and others conducted a riot in protest of prison conditions by setting fires, damaging property and threatening Corrections staff and firefighters. At one point, you climbed onto the roof of the prison and began liberating prisoners by smashing cell windows and encouraging them to join the riot.

[4] In the last days of the riot, you continued to light fires, damage property, and seize protective body armour, shields, and a grinder from the prison armoury. On 1 January 2021, a confrontation occurred between four of the rioters and a group of Advance Control and Restraint (ACR) officers and the Police Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) in which rubber bullets were deployed and hit one rioter in the torso. Following this incident fires erupted on top of several buildings, the kitchen facility was set alight, and rioters threw objects at Corrections officers and firefighters. The following day, teams of Corrections officers entered the prison. You responded by lighting fires at a barricade in the Prison Chapel which swept through the facility and caused near complete destruction of the prison.

[5] On 3 January 2021, the remaining 16 rioters surrendered to Police. The total damage caused by the riot is estimated to be at least $50 million.

1      Crimes Act 1961, ss 90 and 66.
2      Crimes Act 1961, ss 267(1)(a) and 66.
3      Crimes Act 1961, ss 202C(1)(a) and 66.
4      R v Cuff [2022] NZHC 2545.

Pre-sentence report

[6] A pre-sentence report was made available to Court on 21 November 2022. The report assesses you as being at medium risk of re-offending, and as presenting a high risk of harm to others on the basis of the nature, seriousness and number of charges faced. The report recommends imprisonment.

[7]It records that you are remorseful and accept responsibility for your offending:

“I wish it never happened. I am not justifying anything that has happened. I highly…

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 R v Cuff

Details

AGLC: R v Cuff [2023] NZHC 2394
Case: [2023] NZHC 2394
Decision Date: 30 August 2023

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Cuff, which was heard in the High Court of New Zealand, Hamilton Registry, involved Matangirau Cuff who was sentenced for his involvement in the Waikeria Prison riots. Cuff pleaded guilty to charges of riotous damage, arson, and assault with a weapon. The court was required to determine an appropriate sentence, taking into account the aggravating and mitigating factors of the case. The primary legal issues involved assessing the severity of the crimes, the defendant's role in the events, and his potential for rehabilitation.

The court, in its reasoning, established a starting point for the sentence based on the nature and gravity of the offences, which was set at 11 years and three months' imprisonment. The court then considered personal factors, including Cuff's background, his remorse, and his rehabilitative efforts, which led to a discount of 25 per cent. Additionally, the court took into account the time Cuff spent on electronic monitoring bail, which resulted in a further deduction of one and a half months' imprisonment. The final sentence was set at five years and eight months' imprisonment, to be served concurrently on the charges of riotous damage and arson, and three years' imprisonment on the charge of assault with a weapon. The court also discharged certain other charges as per the Crown's request.

In summary, the court balanced the severity of the crimes with the defendant's background, remorse, and efforts towards rehabilitation to arrive at a sentence that it deemed appropriate under the circumstances.

Orders