R v Henare - [2024] NZHC 364

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND PALMERSTON NORTH REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TE PAPAIOEA ROHE

CRI-2022-031-776

[2024] NZHC 364

THE KING

v

ADAM KAPO HENARE

Trial: 2–10 October 2023

Counsel:

G J C Carter and G M Stone for Crown P C Mitchell for Defendant

Sentencing:

28 February 2024

SENTENCING NOTES OF RADICH J

Introduction

[1] Kia ora koutou katoa. Mr Henare, you appear for sentence today, having been convicted by a jury of a charge of reckless driving causing death.1

The offending

[2] I begin, as one does in sentencing decisions like this, by describing the offending. It is something I need to do again to place the facts and circumstances into their proper context.

1 Land Transport Act 1998, ss 36AA(1)(a).

R v HENARE [2024] NZHC 364 [28 February 2024]

[3] In the early hours of 23 February 2022, you were at the Gladstone Reserve near Levin with a female friend, having driven there in a blue Subaru. While you were there, the victim, Raynor Cribb, arrived with two friends in a silver Honda. There was some interaction between you and your friend, on the one hand, and between Mr Cribb and his friends, on the other, before you and your friend left in the Subaru you were driving. Shortly after you left, Mr Cribb and his friends returned to the silver Honda to find, they believed, that it had been rummaged through and that Mr Cribb’s phone had been taken. They assumed it was you who took it. Whether or not their assumption was correct was not an essential issue at trial and is not something that was established in the evidence. Whatever the case, Mr Cribb and his friends then got into the Honda and, with one of Mr Cribb’s friends driving, chased after you, eventually catching up to you along a long straight on Tararua Road. During this chase both cars were driving at speeds well in excess of the speed limit and of up to 160 kmph.

[4] As the chase continued at these high speeds along Tararua Road, both cars came up to a near-ninety-degree right-hand turn where Tararua Road turns onto Cambridge Street in Levin. The car you were driving was on the left and the silver Honda was on the right. As both cars approached the corner, both drivers braked heavily and the Honda overshot the Subaru that you were driving. As this happened, and before your car came to a stop, Mr Cribb somehow came out of the front passenger seat of the Honda and into the path of the Subaru before coming to be underneath the Subaru.

[5] Immediately following the accident, the driver of the Honda, whose car had not come to a complete stop, drove away and then, realising that Mr Cribb was no longer in the car, returned to the location of the accident. There, he found you standing beside the passenger door of the Subaru, next to Mr Cribb, who could…

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 Henare

Details

AGLC: R v Henare [2024] NZHC 364
Case: [2024] NZHC 364
Decision Date: 28 February 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The defendant, Adam Kapo Henare, was convicted of reckless driving causing death. The incident occurred in the early hours of 23 February 2022, when Henare was involved in a high-speed car chase with another vehicle, resulting in a collision. The victim, Raynor Cribb, was ejected from his car and became trapped under Henare's vehicle. Despite knowing that Mr Cribb was trapped and still alive, Henare drove off, causing further injuries to the victim, who later died. The court had to determine an appropriate sentence that considered the aggravating and mitigating factors of the case, the purposes and principles of sentencing, and the impact on the victim's family.

In reaching a decision, the court considered the aggravating factors such as Henare's deliberate decision to drive off while knowing the victim was trapped under his car, and his failure to seek medical assistance for the victim. The court also took into account Henare's extensive criminal history and his behaviour while on electronically monitored bail. On the other hand, the court considered Henare's personal background, his expression of remorse, and his offer to participate in a restorative justice conference with the victim's family.

Ultimately, the court determined that a starting point of four years and three months imprisonment was appropriate, with a total discount of ten months, resulting in a sentence of three years and five months imprisonment. Additionally, Henare was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver's licence for one year. The court emphasised the importance of holding Henare accountable for his actions and the need to protect the community from his potential to reoffend.

Orders