Violent WINZ rampage ‘hair-brained’
Fuelled by booze, illicit drugs and medication, a man most know as a calm and gentle person unleashed his frustrations at a Work and Income office.
Geoffrey Spring tipped over tables, trashed photocopiers and broke massive internal windows during his New Year’s Eve wrecking mission at the Feilding WINZ office, causing thousands of dollars of damage.
He was decidedly more sober in the Palmerston North District Court on Tuesday, his 61st birthday, when he was sentenced to nine months’ home detention for aggravated burglary.
While the bill for the damage was $34,873.32, Spring was only ordered to pay $5000 at $10 a week, with Judge Gerard Lynch saying Spring ‘‘would have left his mortal coil’’ well before paying the full cost.
Spring broke into the Feilding WINZ office at midnight on New Year’s Eve, using a screwdriver to jemmy open the back door.
He took off and hid nearby when the alarm went off, with security guards turning off the alarm and closing the doors in the meantime.
Spring went back at 4.25am, this time taking a more direct method of entry – throwing a brick through a large window.
He was spotted during his tour of destruction by a member of the public, who called police.
Spring complied with police orders to leave the building.
However, he did not heed directions to drop a knife he was pointing in the direction of police officers.
He retreated back inside after being pepper sprayed, but came back out soon after.
This time police upped the ante, pointing Tasers at Spring as he brandished the knife. Spring ended up dropping the weapon and was arrested.
Spring made verbal threats to the officers who handcuffed him, saying he wanted to kill and stab them. He also said ‘‘WINZ has been stuffing me around and I hate them’’.
Crown prosecutor Karl van der Plas said Spring could have been charged with two burglaries and threatening police.
The judge said letters of support described Spring as a kind, gentle and caring man. He also said the offending was ‘‘bizarre, hairbrained’’ and ‘‘totally out of the blue’’.