At the age of 19 she has battled drug addiction, associated with gang members and spent time in prison, but the support of her family and friends could not save her from another stretch behind bars.
Chloe Pascale Ingersoll was sent to prison for three years and two months when she appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday for aggravated burglary and supplying iodine – an important ingredient in the manufacture of P.
Defence counsel Rob Harrison spoke of a woman who began associating with the wrong kinds of people from a young age and whose offending was a result of learned behaviour from those she mixed with.
Her criminal behaviour stemmed from a lifestyle of drug use and drug addiction, but she had tried to shake the habit, he said.
"It's not just about waving a magic wand [to get rid of the addiction]," he said.
Ingersoll was charged with supplying material to make methamphetamine after police became aware of an operation in Blenheim to produce the class A drug.
Ingersoll and several other women were encouraged by an associate of the manufacturer to buy some of the readily available ingredients, Mr Harrison said.
Progress had been made to wean her addiction and her parents were hopeful, he said, adding that he had also noticed a physical change in Ingersoll.
Crown prosecutor Mike Turner said Ingersoll had been on bail awaiting sentence for supplying iodine when she and a friend had gone to the home of another woman believed to be involved in breaking up a friend's relationship. Ingersoll took an iron bar hidden up her sleeve.
Disguised in a hooded sweatshirt, scarf and dark glasses, Ingersoll went into the house and beat the woman with the metal bar, hitting the victim around her arms and knees about 10 times and punching her in the head and face. The victim also needed medical attention for a laceration to her head, Mr Turner said.
The attack was premeditated and lasted several minutes. It stopped only when the co-accused intervened, he said.
Ingersoll had driven past the victim's house, turned the car around and parked about 50 metres away – a move designed for a quick getaway, he said.
Mr Harrison called the incident "bizarre", almost with a schoolyard feel to it.
It was a show of immaturity overlaid with learned behaviour from the environment she had been in, he said.
Judge Stephen Harrop said Ingersoll had a good upbringing but also suffered a drug dependency that made it hard for her to get out of the system.
"It's distressing and sad and you deserve a great deal of sympathy," he said. "The thing you need most is help rather than punishment, but I'm not here to sentence you based on who you are, but rather what you've done." By Simon Wong - The Marlborough Express
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