R v Tapara-Taipari - [2023] NZHC 1812

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND HAMILTON REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA KIRIKIRIROA ROHE

CRI-2021-072-00048

[2023] NZHC 1812

THE KING

v

ARLEYE MICHAEL TAPARA-TAIPARI

Hearing: 13 July 2023

Appearances:

R L Mann for Crown

H Roose for Defendant (via VMR)

Sentence:

13 July 2023

SENTENCING REMARKS OF LANG J

Solicitors/counsel:
Hamilton Legal, Tauranga H Roose, Hamilton

R v TAPARA-TAIPARI [2023] NZHC 1812 [13 July 2023]

[1] Tapara-Taipari, you appear for sentence today having pleaded guilty to one representative charge each of causing riotous damage,1 arson2 and assault with a weapon.3 You entered your pleas following a sentence indication I gave you on 2 December 2022.4 In the sentence indication, I selected a starting point for your offending and indicated the extent to which I would provide a discount to reflect guilty pleas. It now remains for me to determine whether, and if so to what extent, to reduce the sentence further to reflect other mitigating factors identified in material provided prior to sentencing.

Background

[2] You pleaded guilty on the basis of a summary of facts that was used to provide the sentence indication. This records that you were a remand prisoner in Waikeria Prison at the time that a riot occurred between 29 December 2020 and 3 January 2021. The charges were laid against you as a result of your involvement in that riot.

[3] I do not propose to set out the factual background in full because this is contained in the sentence indication which will be annexed to the transcript of these remarks and will form part of them. In short, however, you were one of nine prisoners who ripped doors off their hinges in an exercise yard and then climbed onto the roof of the Waikeria Prison complex. The efforts of the group to persuade the remaining 12 prisoners in the yard to join them were unsuccessful. You and your associates on the roof then used an iron bar to smash through cell windows and liberate prisoners housed in the upper levels of the high security block. Eight of the inmates in those cells chose to join your group on the roof.

[4] Over the following days, you and other members of the group lit fires in various areas of the prison and damaged prison property in other ways. Attempts by Corrections staff to enter the prison were rebuffed by hurling objects at them.

1      Crimes Act 1961, s 90 – maximum penalty seven years’ imprisonment.
2      Sections 267(1) – maximum penalty 14 years’ imprisonment.
3      Sections 202C(1)(a) – maximum penalty five years’ imprisonment.
4      R v Tapara-Taipari [2022] NZHC 3219.

Eventually, fires swept throughout the facility and Corrections staff had no option but to withdraw. The fires caused the near complete destruction of the complex.

[5]You and your associates ultimately surrendered on 3 January 2021.

The sentence indication

[6] In selecting a starting point for your offending, I had regard to the starting points selected for three other persons involved in…

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 Tapara-Taipari

Details

AGLC: R v Tapara-Taipari [2023] NZHC 1812
Case: [2023] NZHC 1812
Decision Date: 13 July 2023

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The defendant, Arleye Michael Tapara-Taipari, was sentenced in the High Court of New Zealand, Hamilton Registry, for causing riotous damage, arson, and assault with a weapon. The charges arose from his involvement in a riot that occurred at Waikeria Prison between 29 December 2020 and 3 January 2021. Tapara-Taipari, a remand prisoner at the time, pleaded guilty to one representative charge of each of the three offences. The court had to determine the appropriate sentence, considering the starting point for the offending, the effect of any mitigating factors, and whether a minimum term of imprisonment was warranted.

The legal issues included determining an appropriate starting point for sentencing, assessing the impact of mitigating factors, and deciding whether a minimum term of imprisonment should be imposed. The starting point was selected by comparing Tapara-Taipari's culpability with that of other defendants involved in the same riot, leading to a starting point of 11 years and 3 months imprisonment. The court applied a 25% discount for his guilty pleas, resulting in an indicated sentence of 8 years and 5 months imprisonment. Additional mitigating factors, such as his background, rehabilitative prospects, and expressions of remorse, warranted a further reduction of 26 months. The court found no sufficient grounds to impose a minimum term of imprisonment.

In conclusion, Tapara-Taipari was sentenced to six years and 3 months imprisonment for each charge, to be served concurrently. The court also discharged him on the remaining charges arising from the prison riot. This decision reflects a comprehensive consideration of both aggravating and mitigating factors in determining the appropriate sentence for the defendant's involvement in the serious prison riot.

Orders