Teenager’s courtroom tantrum

A troubled teenager swore and hurled abuse in court, before carrying on the violent tantrum in her cell afterwards.

Taryna Mcgovern was obviously unhappy during her appearance in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday after she found out she would be spending more time behind bars. The 18-year-old started crying before her name was even called by the registrar, but the tears didn’t last long before pure anger took over.

Since her arrest on December 30, she had been in police custody.

The court heard that her bail was not opposed by police but Mcgovern had nowhere to stay, which left the court with only one option - a further custodial remand.

She stormed out of the court and continued to scream before banging on the walls and door of a downstairs cell.

During the hearing, she dropped the ‘F’ bomb repeatedly, cussed people out and at one point, marched out of the dock and threatened to escape from the courtroom.

However, Judge Garry Barkle soon stepped in, told Mcgovern to be quiet and warned her that any further outbursts would result in her being taken back down to the cells.

He said if an address was found and was given the green light by police, Mcgovern could apply for bail before her next court appearance on January 11. This temporarily muted the teenager but after the judge finished the paperwork she sat down in a huff in the dock and refused to leave, repeatedly cursing the outcome.

Shortly afterwards, she stormed out of the court and continued to scream before banging on the walls and door of a downstairs cell. This continued non-stop for 10 minutes, and then intermittently for another half an hour, while the judge dealt with other matters.

Mcgovern faces a total of six charges after an incident in New Plymouth on December 30 where is it alleged she tried to break into a car. She was also found on a Whiteley St property without permission. The teen is also accused of resisting arrest and assaulting the two police officers who attended the callout.

She was also allegedly found in possession of two large knives. The teen has yet to plead to any of the charges.