Victim’s ex friend nabbed for burglary

Finding out a former friend was behind a mean-spirited burglary that included the theft of her late mother’s jewellery was a devastating blow for one crime victim.

In August, Gaylene Askew discovered her New Plymouth home had been broken into and property taken, including earrings, necklaces, rings, electronic devices, make up and perfume.

Blood and glass were the only clues at the time as to who might be responsible for the break in, which had left Askew and her 21-year-old daughter shaken.

It turned out the woman behind the burglary was Donna Maire Peterson, a woman Askew had known for years and who had once lived at the house when she needed a place to stay.

‘‘I trusted her as a friend,’’ Askew told the New Plymouth District Court.

‘‘All the property stolen was personal to me in some way. I felt like it was a personal attack,’’ she said.

Yesterday, Askew was in court for Petersen’s sentencing on charges of burglary and possession of a methamphetamine pipe.

The defendant had pleaded guilty at an earlier appearance. Another person has pleaded guilty to being involved in the burglary but has yet to be sentenced.

Askew told the court she and Petersen used to be friends and had worked together. The pair shared a close bond, to the point where Petersen knew the pass- word to her laptop computer.

She said the fact some of her mother’s property had been taken had been hard to deal with. Askew said her mother, who died five years ago, had treated Petersen well.

‘‘I think she has disrespected by mum’s memory,’’ she said.

Judge Chris Sygrove said on August 11 Petersen and a cooffender drove to Askew’s home and smashed a hole in the glass ranch slider that they walked through.

The two went on to ransack the house, stashing the stolen items into a bag before leaving. Only some of the stolen property had been recovered, he said.

Sygrove said the burglary followed Petersen’s two-day binge on methamphetamine, a drug he described as ‘‘dangerous’’.

‘‘That played a key role in your offending,’’ the judge said.

Lawyer Jo Woodcock said her client accepted the harm she had caused and was remorseful for it.

The two friends had fallen out recently over a debt, but Petersen accepted she had made a ‘‘poor choice’’ to burgle the home as a way to get back the money she felt she was owed, Woodcock said.

Petersen was sentenced to 12 months’ intensive supervision and a six month community detention sentence, which includes a 9pm6am nightly curfew. She will also have to pay $250 in reparation.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to a charge of breaching her community work and a case review on this matter will be heard on December 8.