R v Kingi - [2018] NZHC 1905

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND ROTORUA REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA

TE ROTORUA-NUI-A-KAHUMATAMOMOE ROHE

CRI-2017-087-131

[2018] NZHC 1905

THE QUEEN

v

TYSON KINGI

Hearing: 30 July 2018

Appearances:

R W Jenson for Crown

W T Nabney for Mr Kingi

Judgment:

30 July 2018

SENTENCING REMARKS OF LANG J

R v KINGI [2018] NZHC 1905 [30 July 2018]

[1] Earlier today I gave Mr Kingi a sentence indication in relation to a charge of rioting.1 Mr Nabney, who appears today for Mr Kingi, advised me following the hearing that Mr Kingi wished to accept the indication. He also wished to waive his right to a pre-sentence report and to be sentenced immediately.

[2] I do not propose to set out the facts giving rise to the charge again. They are set out in my sentence indication that will be annexed to these remarks and will form part of them. In short, I selected a starting point of 15 months imprisonment. I then applied a discount of three months to reflect restrictive EM bail conditions, and a further discount of three months to reflect any guilty plea. This produced an end sentence of nine months imprisonment.

[3] Mr Kingi has today provided me with a letter in which he expresses his remorse and says that he no longer wishes to be involved in the type of activity that has given rise to the present charge. I am gratified to hear that Mr Kingi seeks to modify his ways in the future. In the end, however, the expressions of remorse are not such that I propose to reduce the sentence further.

Sentence

[4] On the charge of rioting, Mr Kingi, you are sentenced to nine months imprisonment.

[5]Stand down.

Lang J

Solicitors:
Crown Solicitor, Tauranga
W T Nabney, Barrister, Tauranga

1 R v Kingi [2018] NZHC 1901.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND ROTORUA REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TE ROTORUA-NUI-Ā-KAHU ROHE

CRI-2017-087-131 [2018] NZHC 1901

THE QUEEN

TYSON KINGI LIONEL TE RIINI

Hearing: 30 July 2018 Appearances: R W Jenson for Crown
W T Nabney for Mr Kingi G McArthur for Mr Te Riini

Judgment: 30 July 2018

SENTENCE INDICATION OF LANG J

[1] Mr Te Riini and Mr Kingi are charged with rioting. Their trial is due to commence on 20 August 2018. Both defendants have now sought a sentence indication. This is an indication of the sentence that would be imposed in the event that the defendants entered guilty pleas to the charges within a very short time of the indication being given.

The charges

[2] Each defendant was charged after he became involved at the tail-end of a series of events that occurred in and around the Whakatane area on 27 January 2017. On that date, a large number of cars filed with members of the Mongrel Mob and their supporters arrived in Whakatane as part of a funeral procession. During the course of the day members and associates of…

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 Kingi

Details

AGLC: R v Kingi [2018] NZHC 1905
Case: [2018] NZHC 1905
Decision Date: 30 July 2018

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Kingi involved a sentencing hearing before Lang J in the High Court of New Zealand Rotorua Registry. Tyson Kingi was charged with rioting and had been given a sentence indication by the judge. The legal issues before the court included determining the appropriate starting point for sentencing, applying any discounts for mitigating factors, and deciding whether to impose any uplifts for aggravating factors. The starting point for sentencing was set at 15 months imprisonment, based on a previous case with similar offending. Mitigating factors such as restrictive electronic monitoring bail conditions and a guilty plea resulted in a discount of three months each, resulting in a total sentence of nine months imprisonment. The defendant expressed remorse and a desire to change his ways, but the judge did not reduce the sentence further.

The court considered the nature of the offending, which involved the defendant becoming part of a confrontation between rival gangs. The starting point was set based on the seriousness of the offending, taking into account the defendant's knowledge of the previous incidents. Mitigating factors such as the defendant's early guilty plea and the restrictive bail conditions resulted in a discount of three months each, resulting in a total sentence of nine months imprisonment. The court did not consider any uplift for aggravating factors, as the previous convictions of the defendant were considered to be at the "nuisance" end of the scale. The defendant expressed remorse and a desire to change his ways, but the judge did not reduce the sentence further. The final sentence imposed was nine months imprisonment for the charge of rioting.

Orders