R v Poroa HC Tauranga CRI 2010-070-2926
[2010] NZHC 1453
•30 July 2010
IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND TAURANGA REGISTRY
CRI-2010-070-002926
THE QUEEN
v
MARK NGAHAU-EWHA POROA DENIM NGAHAU-EWHA POROA ROSEANNE PARETITAHA WALKER
Charges: Mark Poroa
Possession of cannabis for supply x1
Selling cannabis x1
Offering to sell cannabis x1
Denim Poroa
Possession of cannabis for supply x1
Supplying cannabis x1
Roseanne Walker
Possession of cannabis for supply x1
Supplying cannabis x3
Pleas: Guilty
Appearances: H M Booth for Crown
T Balme for Prisoner Mark Poroa
P T Birks for Prisoner Denim Poroa
M G Dixon for Prisoner Walker
Sentenced: 30 July 2010
Mark Poroa end sentence 2 years 4 months’ imprisonment
Denim Poroa end sentence two years’ imprisonment
Roseanne Walker end sentence two years two months’ imprisonment
SENTENCING NOTES OF VENNING J
Solicitors: Crown Solicitor, Tauranga
Copy to: T Balme, Tauranga
P T Birks Rotorua
M G Dixon, Tauranga
R V POROA AND ORS HC TAU CRI-2010-070-002926 30 July 2010
[1] Mark Poroa you have pleaded guilty to and are for sentence for one count each of possession of cannabis for supply, selling cannabis and offering to sell cannabis. Denim Poroa you have pleaded guilty to and are for sentence of one count of possession of cannabis for supply and one of supplying cannabis. Roseanne Walker you have pleaded guilty to and are for sentence on one count of possession of cannabis for supply and three counts of supplying cannabis. The maximum penalty for each offence is eight years’ imprisonment. The District Court has declined jurisdiction and you are for sentence in this Court.
[2] It must be obvious to everyone here in Court today that it is a tragedy as a family you are before the Court for sentence in this way. Your offending came to the attention of the police during 2009 when as a result of information from a number of sources the police became aware that a tinnie house was operating at an address in Haukore Street, Tauranga. Undercover officers were sent to the tinnie house in early February. An officer spoke to you Ms Walker and you told him the shop had moved from number 58 to number 35. A few days later on 10 February an undercover constable went back to 35 Haukore Street. He was told the operation had moved back down the road and he went to 58 where again the officer spoke with you Ms Walker. You were carrying a zip lock bag containing several cannabis tinnies. He purchased one. On 18 March another undercover officer visited the address at 58 and purchased a further two tinnies from you. On 30 March another undercover officer visited the address again. Mr Mark Poroa you sold him two cannabis tinnies. At that time you also offered to supply him an ounce of cannabis the following day for $300. On the morning of 31 March an undercover constable bought a further tinnie from you Ms Walker. You confirmed you knew about the offer from the day before but said you were having difficulty obtaining that amount of cannabis at the time. Later in the same day, in the afternoon of 31 March, another officer visited the address and purchased three cannabis tinnies from you Mr Denim Poroa.
[3] The police operation also included surveillance which recorded a number of cars and people visiting the address for brief periods during the course of each day, which was consistent with the purchase of drugs from the address.
[4] Shortly after the last visit by the undercover officers on 31 March a search warrant was executed. Mr Denim Poroa you were seen running from the property and were chased and located. On the route you took a cooler bag was found containing $4,500 in cash, mostly $20 notes, one bag of approximately 250 grams of cannabis head, two snaplock bags containing 70 grams of cannabis and one snaplock bag containing approximately 30 cannabis tinnies. Mr Mark Poroa and Ms Walker, you were found inside the tinnie house itself. There was a CCTV screen which provided a view of vehicles and people approaching the address. It was linked to a camera found in a tree outside the house. The police also found a similar cooler bag to the one located before. This bag contained six snaplock bags, approximately 30 grams of cannabis head and $1,770 in cash, again mainly in $20 notes. Also inside the house were electronic scales, a list, rolls of tinfoil and cut pieces of tinfoil, a glass pipe, and snaplock bags. When you were spoken to you initially declined to make any comment or denied your involvement but have subsequently pleaded guilty at an early stage and you will each receive full credit for those early guilty pleas.
[5] In total about 515 grams was found. If sold as tinnies at $20 each that put a value of the cannabis found of between $10,000 and $20,000. In addition total cash of $6,270 was located and notes used by the undercover officers to purchase cannabis on 30 and 31 March were found but, significantly, the bundle of $6,270 did not include notes used for the purchases from the earlier dates. So the $6,270 represented recent sales. The CCTV camera, the pre-packaged tinnies, the scales and tinfoil all showed an organised commercial operation.
[6] Mark Poroa at the age of 47 you and your partner of 32 years Ms Walker are for sentence. You have six surviving children ranging from 19 to 14. Your last employment was as a timber worker in Taupo. You were employed there for 14 years but since the business closed in 2007 you have been unemployed. You have a harmful pattern of cannabis use. You told the probation officer you want to change
your cannabis use and presented as motivated to address it. The probation officer, however, expressed some reserve about your professed motivation and remorse and suggested it could perhaps be rather more a reflection of the circumstances you now find yourself in. The Crown submit and your counsel accept that a start point in the region of three and a half years is appropriate for the level of offending you were involved in.
[7] Mr Denim Poroa you are still a relatively young man and you have two young children yourself. In the pre-sentence report you say you intend to move to Wellington where your partner’s parents live and where you hope to make a fresh start. Well you must know by now that if you are to avoid reoffending in this way you do need to make a complete change in your life and make a fresh start. Your employment history has been mixed as well and unfortunately your offending, even though you are a young man, is reflected in an established pattern of drug use and drug dealing. You told the probation officer you would agree to attend substance abuse counselling and are prepared to make changes to your lifestyle. A Tikanga Maori programme may instil a sense of responsibility in you and assist you to mature. The probation officer considers to a degree you were involved in this offending due to your misguided family loyalties. But again I have to say the summary of facts discloses you were actively involved in this operation.
[8] Ms Walker at the age of 37 you have also got a lengthy list of previous convictions for a variety of offending, although nothing of particular seriousness in relation to drug offending, I accept that. You have been in a relationship with Mark Poroa since you were 16 and you had your first child Denim, the co-accused, when you were 17. You have a history of drug use. You are identified by the risk assessment tool as being at medium risk of reoffending given your past history. Mr Dixon has raised the possibility of home detention and indicated your instructions are that you would seek to have this sentencing adjourned to enable you to supply another alternative address. I have to say that in my judgment in this case home detention is not a realistic option and I decline to adjourn the sentencing process.
[9] In sentencing you all this morning I am required to consider and take into account the purposes and principles of the Sentencing Act. In this case the
particularly relevant purposes are that of denunciation of drug offending and deterrence of you and others. I am also required to take into account the gravity of the offending and your individual culpability. Mr Mark Poroa you sought in a letter to the Court to take responsibility for the offending but the summary of facts discloses that both your partner Ms Walker and your son Denim were actively involved in this operation. I accept to a degree, however, having considered the pre- sentence reports that you are a controlling figure and I take that into account as far as I can in relation to your co-accused.
[10] The overriding objective, however, must be to arrive at a sentence consistent with other sentences imposed for similar offending. In that regard, of course, the Court is assisted by reference to the tariff case of R v Terewi.[1] The Crown have submitted, and it is accepted properly by your lawyers that the offending in this case falls into category 2. That provides a start point of imprisonment for offending between two and four years. Given the level of commerciality and the level of dealing in this case it must be towards the higher end of that range.
[1] R v Terewi (1999) 16 CRNZ 429.
[11] In my judgment a start point of three years four months is appropriate for the offending. I then have regard to your personal aggravating and mitigating factors. Mark Poroa, you have a lengthy list of convictions, including relevantly a conviction for the cultivation of cannabis on 5 March 2007 when you were given a final warning. I uplift your start point by two months to take account of your propensity to offend in relation to drug dealing.
[12] Mr Denim Poroa, in your case I take the start point of three years four months as well for the offending you were involved in. You also have a previous conviction, a recent one, for possession of cannabis for supply in March 2009. This current offending that you were involved in occurred while you were subject to release conditions following imposition of a home detention sentence. Again an uplift is required to take account of that fact but I temper it and fix the uplift at two months in your case as well. Ms Walker, although you do have a list of convictions as I noted I accept there are no recent convictions of relevance. There is no uplift required and I take a start point for you of three years four months.
[13] Mr Mark Poroa, would you please stand. Taking into account the only positive mitigating factor on your behalf which is your early plea of guilty plea, and I am going to give you full credit for that because I acknowledge that is an acceptance of your responsibility and remorse. The end sentence I impose for you on each charge is two years four months’ imprisonment. The sentences are to be served concurrently. The effective sentence is two years four months.
[14] Mr Denim Poroa, please stand. I make an allowance for your relative youth and, in as much as I can, the circumstances which led to your offending in this way. I give you a reduction of six months for that which leads to a start point before taking account of your guilty plea of three years. I give you a full discount of one- third for your early guilty plea which leads to an end sentence of two years imprisonment. Your counsel has realistically and responsibly acknowledged that home detention is not an option. I confirm it is not, given your past offending, given the circumstances of this offending and considering the need to address deterrence and denunciation of such offending. Your sentence on each charge is two years’ imprisonment.
[15] Ms Walker, please stand. Taking account of the maximum discount for a guilty plea for you of one-third the end result is a sentence of two years two months’ imprisonment on each charge. They are concurrent. The effective sentence is two years two months.
[16] There will be an order for forfeiture of the moneys found at the address in the cooler bags to the police and an order for destruction of all drug related items found
at that property. That’s all, stand down.
Venning J
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