$312,540 in drug money forfeited
A Porirua drug dealer has forfeited to the Crown more than $300,000 drug money, some of which went flying when he did a runner with his backpack zip open.
John Perry Morgan Henderson and his son, Wiremu Henderson, were both jailed after being caught with drugs in 2015.
John Henderson, 51, was sentenced to eight and a half years’ jail and his son was sentenced to four years and three months’ jail.
The Court of Appeal last month dismissed John Henderson’s appeal against his sentence.
The main point of his appeal was how his former family home was dealt with. The Cannons Creek, Porirua, house had a registered value of about $250,000.
In a settlement under the criminal proceeds recovery law, John Henderson lost his interest in his family home of 20 years.
His sister, who also had an interest in the house, agreed to pay $45,000 to the Crown to release Henderson’s share of the property to her. It was part of about $130,000 she paid, which included methamphetamine decontamination and repairs to make the house habitable again after a period vacant.
The criminal proceeds case was settled after Henderson was sentenced in December 2016.
Henderson’s lawyer had told the Court of Appeal in September that the Crown’s decision to apply for asset forfeiture using the legal procedure that it did, rather than as part of sentencing, was ‘‘capricious’’.
The loss of Henderson’s share of the house was not taken into account as part of sentencing, lawyer John Miller said.
The Court of Appeal said civil forfeiture proceedings were not generally taken into account for sentencing purposes.
The sentencing judge said when police arrived to search Henderson’s house at about 6am on May 29, 2015, he escaped from the backyard.
Even when money, drugs, and one of Henderson’s shoes dropped in a neighbour’s compost heap Henderson kept running, apparently with his backpack open, dropping more money and drugs.
A jury found Henderson guilty of two charges of possessing methamphetamine for supply, two charges of possessing cannabis resin for supply, one each of having cannabis for supply, growing cannabis, and resisting police.
His son, Wiremu Henderson, 26, was found guilty of possessing methamphetamine for the purposes of supply, and possession of psychoactive substances for the purposes of supply.
Police assets recovery officer, detective senior sergeant Brent Murray, called the amount recovered ‘‘significant’’.