Jealousy may have been the cause of a dancefloor attack that left a Renwick youth facing an assault charge, the Blenheim District Court heard yesterday.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Steve Frost said Sonny Spencer Puru, a 26-year-old gib stopper, was "moderately intoxicated" when he entered Shapeshifters bar in Blenheim on November 8.
On the dancefloor, Puru approached a man and smashed a beer bottle over his head.
Mr Frost said Puru did not know the victim, who was left with a bloody nose and cuts to his face.
Defence lawyer Philip Watson said Puru went to the bar after his girlfriend sent him a text message asking to be picked up. He said Puru did know the victim, and on arriving at the bar found him "all over his girlfriend".
Judge John Walker sentenced Puru to 80 hours of community work.
A Blenheim man used a key to vandalise a police holding cell after he was arrested for disorderly behaviour and breaching a public liquor ban.
Jonathon Mark Nicholson, a 28-year-old labourer, appeared in court yesterday and admitted charges of disorderly behaviour, intentional damage, breaching the liquor ban in central Blenheim and assault. He was sentenced to 80 hours of community work, ordered to pay $50 for damaging the cell, and convicted and discharged for public disorder and breaching the liquor ban.
The court heard that Nicholson was seen smashing bottles, swinging on signposts and abusing motorists at the intersection of Hutcheson and Alfred Sts on April 10.
Mr Frost said that when police arrived, Nicholson was standing in the middle of the road, yelling at cars and drinking from a bottle of vodka. Cars had to swerve to avoid him.
Nicholson was arrested and put in a police holding cell, where he used a house key, which was not found when police searched him, to scratch initials into the walls.
Defence lawyer Laurie Murdoch said Nicholson had lost his cellphone and had been looking for it on the road.
The assault charge arose from an incident on March 13, when Nicholson punched a bouncer in the face after he was evicted from Fairweathers bar in Blenheim, Mr Frost said.
Miss Murdoch said Nicholson conceded that he "wouldn't be [in court] if it weren't for alcohol".
A drunken wander into someone else's yard proved costly for a Blenheim man, who was fined $400 as a result.
Tamati Caine Rangiuaia, 26, a vineyard worker, admitted a charge of being unlawfully in an enclosed yard.
Judge John Walker fined Rangiuaia $400.
Mr Frost said a dog in the yard began barking, waking its owner, who saw Rangiuaia, who fled into another yard. Defence lawyer John Holdaway said Rangiuaia was drunk at the time.
A Blenheim man caught siphoning fuel from trucks at a Blenheim construction company was sentenced to eight months in prison yesterday.
Seth John Samuels, 27, was charged with burglary, breaching community work, careless driving and two counts of driving while disqualified. He pleaded guilty to all the charges.
Mr Frost said Samuels and an associate entered Findlater Construction's yard in Timandra Pl on November 18 last year and attempted to siphon diesel from two trucks.
The pair were disturbed by a security patrol and fled in Samuels' car, leaving the diesel container and the hoses attached to the trucks.
The security patrol lost the car on Muller Rd, Mr Frost said.
Samuels then crashed into a parked caravan in Weld St, but kept driving to a friend's house.
Mr Watson said Samuels had already spent time in custody and was keen to get the matters cleared up, so he had pleaded guilty. He was aware that he was probably facing a prison sentence.
Judge Walker said Samuels had a long history of breaching court orders, which was a sign that he was "thumbing your nose at the court".
As well as the jail term, he disqualified Samuels from driving for six months but did not order him to pay reparation, saying Samuels would probably not pay it.
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