Jail for fence paling attack on elderly man

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A burglar who struck a 72-year-old rural Canterbury resident with a fence paling when he was trapped at the crime scene was jailed for three years at his sentencing in Christchurch District Court today.

Jonathan Selwyn Bevan Ellis, 19 and unemployed, admitted having gone prowling with two friends looking for rural properties to raid.

They had loaded tools from a shed into their car at an Ohoka property, near Christchurch, when the householders found them and took their car keys and blocked in the car.

Ellis picked up a fence paling that was lying in the farmyard, defence counsel Michael Starling told the court.

"Realising he had been caught in the act and the car blocked, he panicked and wanted to leave without being arrested. He picked up the fence paling and hit one in the legs and one in the arm," he said.

They were struck with the flat side of the paling but there was a lot of bruising.

Mr Starling said Ellis had a partner and a two-year-old child and was sorry for his offending. He had written a letter of apology.

But Judge Graeme Noble said he preferred the probation officer's assessment at the pre-sentence interview that Ellis showed no remorse.

He noted that he had a partner and child. "If you were concerned about their welfare, one wonders what you were doing out offending in this way in December."

The 72-year-old man who was struck had fortunately suffered no physical harm. "Understandably he is now very concerned with aspects of security around the farm and protecting himself and his family from the predations of people of the likes of you.

"This was a nasty, premeditated and violent incursion into an elderly person's property for the purpose of stealing," said the judge.

Ellis had been offending for three years and had 17 previous convictions including two for violence, one for possession of an offensive weapon, and three for breaches of community-based sentences.

Ellis had pleaded guilty to the charge of aggravated burglary, theft of $150 cash, and intentional damage of a vehicle. Judge Noble cancelled an earlier sentence of intensive supervision and a 200-hour community work sentence - Ellis had done only 30 minutes of it.

- NZPA