Westrupp v The King - [2024] NZHC 1087

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND NAPIER REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA AHURIRI ROHE

CRI-2024-441-5

[2024] NZHC 1087

BETWEEN
NGAWI HOKIANGA ANTHONY WESTRUPP

Appellant

AND

THE KING

Respondent

Hearing: 30 April 2024

Appearances:

A M M Ives for Appellant

M J R Blaschke for Respondent

Judgment:

3 May 2024

JUDGMENT OF GRICE J

(Leave for appeal to be filed out of time application and sentence appeal)

Introduction

[1] Mr Ngawi Westrupp was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in the Napier District Court on 2 February 2024 on charges relating to methamphetamine dealing and distribution. He now appeals his sentence on the grounds that the sentence was manifestly excessive. He submits that the starting point was too high, and the Judge should have applied further discounts which would have resulted in a sentence of home detention.

[2]Leave to appeal is required as the appeal was filed out of time.

[3] Mr Westrupp is 45-years old and has five children. He is a patched member of the Mongrelizm chapter of the Mongrel Mob in Wairoa. His offending related to the

WESTRUPP v R [2024] NZHC 1087 [3 May 2024]

distribution of methamphetamine within the Hawkes Bay and Wairoa areas in late 2021.

The offending

[4] Following a sentence indication based on an agreed statement of facts dated November 2023, Mr Westrupp entered guilty pleas and was sentenced on the following charges:

(a)Supply of methamphetamine;1

(b)Conspiracy to supply methamphetamine;2

(c)Attempted possession of methamphetamine for supply;3 and

(d)Failure to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.4

[5] The charges arose out of an investigation into methamphetamine dealing in the Wairoa and Hawkes Bay areas focusing on the Mongrelizm and Barbarian chapters of the Mongrel Mob. I take the following outline from the agreed statement of facts.

Supply of methamphetamine to Mr Taumata

[6] On 1 December 2021, Apirana Taumata was recorded saying he had arranged to purchase half a kilogram of methamphetamine and that he was waiting for his associate to return with the product, stating he had paid $100,000. Mr Westrupp’s phone records indicate he was in Auckland between 30 November 2021 and 4 December 2021. The appellant was able to bypass Covid-19 border checkpoints to enter Auckland for his daughter’s chemotherapy treatment. While in Auckland he sent several text messages confirming he was buying methamphetamine to bring back to the Hawkes Bay and Wairoa.

1      Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, ss 6(1)(c) and 2(a) — maximum penalty life imprisonment.
2      Misuse of Drugs Act, s 6(2A)(a) — maximum penalty 14 years’ imprisonment.
3      Misuse of Drugs Act, ss 6(1)(f) and 2(a); and Crimes Act 1961, s 72 — maximum penalty 10 years’ imprisonment.
4      Search and Surveillance Act 2012, s 178 — maximum penalty 3 months’ imprisonment. The appellant was convicted and discharged in relation to this offence.

[7] On 5 December 2021 Mr Westrupp left Auckland, arriving in Napier on 6 December 2021. On his arrival, a phone call between Mr Westrupp and Mr Taumata was…

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 Westrupp v The King

Details

AGLC: Westrupp v The King [2024] NZHC 1087
Case: [2024] NZHC 1087
Decision Date: 3 May 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ngawi Westrupp appeals his three-year imprisonment sentence imposed by the Napier District Court on 2 February 2024 for methamphetamine dealing and distribution, arguing it was manifestly excessive. The appeal was filed out of time, and leave to appeal was granted. Westrupp, a Mongrel Mob member, was convicted on four charges related to methamphetamine distribution in Hawkes Bay and Wairoa in late 2021. The District Court adopted a starting point of nine years, with a 20% reduction for a guilty plea and a further 35% discount for personal factors, resulting in a three-year imprisonment sentence. Westrupp argues the starting point was too high, and further discounts should have resulted in home detention.

The court found that the District Court judge did not err in her assessment of Westrupp’s role and the starting point. Westrupp's role was more than that of a courier, as he demonstrated autonomy and operated independently. The court found no error in the District Court’s discounting of 55%, which included 15% for rehabilitation efforts, 10% for drug-related issues, and 10% for his upbringing. The court held that the judge appropriately recognised the seriousness of the offending, and the sentence was not manifestly excessive. The appeal was dismissed.

Orders