Judge tells teen to kick the booze to stay out of trouble

A teenager has been told to get off grog if he wants to keep himself out of jail cells and courthouses. ‘‘You don’t want to be 29 years old and in the dock, having stayed in police cells and prison cells, because you couldn’t get on top of alcohol,’’ Judge Lance Rowe told Josiah Graham in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday. Graham, 19, was in court for going on a drunken windowsmashing crusade in Palmerston North in the early hours of May 3. He was drunk when he was confronted by a security guard outside Studylink. He became aggressive and started throwing rocks, with some going through Studylink windows. He then carried on down the road and threw more rocks through the windows of the Speight’s Ale House. Graham was on supervision at the time, having been sentenced for wilful damage and assault. He pleaded guilty yesterday to two more charges of wilful damage. The judge said Graham was unemployed, but had some work coming up. ‘‘Maybe that is the thing that will sort out what is going on with you,’’ the judge said. ‘‘At 19 years old, you have issues with alcohol and issues with anger. Both of them needed to be sorted out.’’ It was time for Graham to take stock of his life, the judge said. ‘‘You need to ask why you are back before the court. ‘‘The answer is pretty obvious – you and alcohol are not compatible. [It’s] time to be in charge of alcohol, not the other way around.’’ Graham was sentenced to nine months’ supervision and ordered to pay $1500 in reparation for the windows.