Defendant tasered, removed for behaviour in court

INVERCARGILL

AN Invercargill man was tasered and removed from court yesterday for bad behaviour.

The man, who has interim name suppression, was facing 13 charges including for assault, driving dangerously, possession of an offensive weapon and attempting to defeat the course of justice.

He pleaded guilty through his defence lawyer, Sonia Vidal, to three charges — driving while disqualified, driving in a dangerous manner, and assault on a person of a family relationship.

A charge of assault on a person with a blunt instrument was withdrawn by police.

The man was sentenced by Invercargill District Court Judge Bernadette Farnan to seven months’ imprisonment and 18 months’ disqualification from driving.

Earlier, when the accused had appeared for his sentencing, he had to be forcibly removed.

Judge Farnan said she was not sure what had ‘‘triggered’’ the incident.

‘‘Such behaviour will not be tolerated,’’ she said.

The charges relate to a incident on June 8 when he drove erratically to avoid a van driven by a member of the public.

The summary of facts states he drove directly at a victim who was standing beside a gravel mound in a car park area in Invercargill.

The victim had to move to avoid being struck by the man’s car and ran off.

The defendant chased the victim on foot, caught them and dragged them kicking and screaming to the car.

The defendant forced the victim to get into the car and as he moved around to the driver’s side, the victim got back out of the car and fled.

They sustained bruising, a scratch to their face, forearm, back, chest and a small cut below the eye.

The man was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence until April 2021.

The other remaining matters would be dealt with in his appearance next week.