Man's drunken attack on car scared sick child

A drunk 19-year-old armed with a golf club attacked a car, injuring a passenger and alarming an unwell child, the New Plymouth District Court heard yesterday.

Nigel Te Huia admitted a charge of reckless behaviour, injuring a passenger in a car when he used the golf club to smash the side mirror.

The splintering glass had sprayed into the face of the 31-year-old male passenger, cutting his face.

Witnessing the senseless attack from the back seat of the car was a young boy who had recently been in Starship Hospital.

In the victim impact statement before the court, the injured man said he was shocked at what had happened but more concerned for the children in the back of the car.

One was an 11-year-old boy who had undergone four operations in Starship last year and had been through enough without having to experience Te Huia's attack, the injured man said.

Te Huia was sentenced to nine months' supervision, with special conditions that he undergo treatment for alcohol abuse and any other programmes deemed suitable.

He was also ordered to pay reparation of $983 at $35 a week.

A potentially disastrous crash following a series of handbrake slides has led to a 19-year-old admitting he has an alcohol problem, the court heard.

On January 29, Carlos Howearth, 19, had drunk half-a-dozen Steinlagers when he took a mate's Toyota Rav and performed handbrake slides at speed in a Bell Block carpark.

It ended when the car rolled, causing injuries to the owner sitting in the passenger's seat.

Howearth had pleaded guilty to driving dangerously causing injury and driving with excess breath alcohol in that it was 399mg. As an under 20-year-old, he is permitted 80mg.

Howearth was sentenced to nine months' supervision during which he is to attend alcohol and drug counselling, 175 hours' community work, and disqualified from driving for eight months.

No reparation was ordered because of the lack of information before the court.

Wiremu Wilson, 22, told the judge he was surprised to find that he was a problem drinker, not the social drinker he thought he was.

Wilson was sentenced yesterday after pleaded guilty to assaulting a mate in New Plymouth's CBD.

Judge Roberts said he recalled Wilson, whom he had sent to community work in January for assaulting a man who was walking in front of him on Devon St at night.

"Here you are four weeks later and again you are in town at 1am drunk."

The judge sentenced Wilson to a nine-month suspended sentence, asking him if he knew what that meant.

"If I play up, I go to jail," Wilson replied.

- © Fairfax NZ News