Woman jailed after child assault, threats
A WOMAN who threatened a flatmate with a meat cleaver while on bail for hitting a toddler in public and giving them wine has been imprisoned for a year.
Jacqui Florence Tucker (36) appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday, where she was sentenced in relation to an October 5, 2021, incident in Hanover St, Dunedin.
She was heard by members of the public screaming at a child — who was under 2 years of age at the time.
The toddler was seen walking around unaccompanied and close to traffic on the road.
Tucker was drinking cask wine and poured some into a plastic bottle, which she tipped into the child’s mouth.
She shoved a pram at the child that narrowly missed.
The incident escalated when Tucker ran up to the child and struck them on their head with her hand, which caused them to start crying.
Tucker then grabbed the child by their jersey and pulled them to the ground, and “softly” kicked them in the back.
When police arrived they found Tucker was intoxicated, clad in only her bra and underwear.
She was also described as being aggressive, unsteady on her feet and not making any sense.
On July 28 she admitted three charges of criminal nuisance, assaulting a child and disorderly behaviour.
In sentencing her yesterday, the court also considered two more recent charges of possessing an offensive weapon and threatening behaviour in relation to a July 4 incident where she threatened a flatmate who had recently moved into her Balclutha home.
The flatmate went to her bedroom and discovered Tucker was there and items had been moved around.
Tucker was asked about the whereabouts of the flatmate’s tablet, which led Tucker to believe she was being accused of theft.
She reacted by leaving and returning with the tablet in one hand and a meat cleaver in the other.
Tucker yelled “Is this yours?” before throwing both items on the floor.
The victim threw the cleaver outside, and barricaded herself in her room until police arrived.
The incident happened while Tucker was on bail, which was a “significant aggravating factor” Judge Michael Turner said.
While Tucker had initially pleaded not guilty, the evidence against her was quite strong and a starting point of 15 months’ imprisonment was considered.
Tucker had “a history of breaching court sentences” including breaches of home detention and intensive supervision, which ruled her out as a candidate for home detention, Judge Turner said.
Tucker was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment.