Sentencing for the boy racer who admitted to his role in the 'mindless behaviour” that saw a milk truck surrounded, and its contents emptied, has been postponed after a judge said he wants to explore restorative justice options.
The 18-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was set to be sentenced at the District Court in Hamilton on Monday after earlier pleading guilty to charges of driving while suspended, disorderly behaviour and intentional damage.
The incident happened about 1.20am on Saturday, March 18, near the intersection of Stokes and Orini roads in the rural Waikato.
The rural crossroads is a well-known spot for street racers to park up and do burnouts at the weekend.
Videos circulating on social media showed a large group of people surrounding a milk tanker apparently attempting to pass through the crowd.
A milk valve was open, with milk spilling onto the roadway.
According to police, a 'significant” amount of milk was emptied from the tanker onto the road.
The lawyer for the 18-year-old, Eilidh Hook, said her client would likely have been offered diversion but for the media interest in the offending, and that she was seeking a discharge without conviction.
She said he had matured since the offending, had removed himself from the car scene, and has been showing 'leadership qualities” in his studies.
Hook also said that while the incident involved 'scores of teenagers”, only her client was in the dock at present.
Judge Noel Cocurullo, however, said he was unsatisfied with the lack of a recent victim impact statement from the driver, who suffered what he said would have been a 'truly terrifying situation”.
'Mindless behaviour from a large group of individuals who set about his truck,” he said.
'Thousands of dollars of milk tipped out. . . I can imagine how frightening it was for the driver.”
He said the Fonterra driver had been the victim of a 'mob type situation”.
'I consider he's a victim.”
Cocurullo said he wanted to explore restorative justice options as 'the victim needs to be brought in a meaningful way”.
He ruled interim name suppression should continue for the 18-year-old, who will reappear for sentencing on November 28 this year.
3 comments
Harden up NZ!!
Posted on 04-10-2022 07:43 | By The Professor
Send the moron to prison AND make him pay for the milk he discharged.
@ The Professor
Posted on 04-10-2022 11:55 | By Yadick
Totally agree AND pay for the clean up of the road. What a disgusting mess. Prison numbers are supposedly down so there's plenty of room for the moron and ban him from milk inside as well to the equivalent of what he's wasted and cost.
@The Professor
Posted on 04-10-2022 12:36 | By morepork
I understand your frustration. There's far too much youth misbehaviour going on and we are all sick of wet bus ticket sentences. But it really would not be "fair" to select one person from a group and punish him on their behalf. If he REALLY is trying to rehabilitate that's a good path to encourage him down and he has shown good faith by breaking the association with street racing. I'd like to see him and the driver sit down across a table. He can formally apologize and maybe he could do some community service helping out the driver. I don't disagree with "Harden Up!", but I'd like to see it tempered with wisdom and puinishments that fit the crime and are more positive than negative.
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