R v Kovaleski

Caleb Peter Kovaleski appeared for sentencing on charges of using a firearm against a law enforcement officer, discharging a firearm with reckless disregard, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, and aggravated assault. The sentencing hearing was held in the High Court of New Zealand at Palmerston North. The Crown was represented by B D Vanderkolk and A M Barham, while P L Murray appeared for Mr Kovaleski. The court heard that the offending occurred between 31 December 2020 and 4 January 2021 while the defendant was under the influence of methamphetamine. The court had to decide the appropriate starting points for each charge, taking into account the totality of the offending and the personal circumstances of the offender.

The court found the most serious offence to be the use of a firearm against a law enforcement officer. The court set a starting point of nine years’ imprisonment for this charge, taking into account the aggravating factors such as the vulnerability of the officer, the presence of premeditation, and the psychological harm suffered by the officer as a result of the incident. For the charges of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle and recklessly discharging a firearm, the court decided on an uplift of 18 months on the starting point of nine years, resulting in a total of 10 years and six months’ imprisonment for these charges. The court set a starting point of four years’ imprisonment for the charge of recklessly discharging a firearm at a car with children inside, and six months’ imprisonment for the two charges of aggravated assault. The overall starting point before personal factors was 14 years’ imprisonment.

Considering the personal circumstances of the offender, the court decided on a six-month uplift for previous relevant offences and offending while subject to release conditions, and a 30 per cent discount for personal circumstances and the offender's guilty pleas. This resulted in a final sentence of 10 years and four months’ imprisonment. The court set a minimum period of imprisonment of five years on the lead charge of using a firearm against a law enforcement officer, to reflect the risk to the community and to provide the offender with the opportunity to engage in treatment programmes. The court allocated the sentence amongst the various charges, imposing a total sentence of 10 years and four months’ imprisonment for the offender.