Talented player stole gear
A talented rugby league player has been jailed on a raft of charges, including stealing gear from his hometown club.
Ziggi William Tangira, who played for the Waitara Bears and also turned out for the Taranaki Sharks in the past, pleaded guilty to three charges of burglary along with unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle during a hearing in the New Plymouth District Court on Friday.
The 30-year-old previously pleaded guilty to nine other charges, which included careless driving, refusing an officer’s request for a blood sample and possession of cannabis and methamphetamine. Six other charges against Tangira were withdrawn.
The court heard how Tangira was still dealing with grief related to the loss of one of his children and had turned to drugs to mask his pain in the intervening years. However, his addiction had spiralled out of control and he had turned to crime to fund his habit.
On July 29, Tangira was involved in a burglary of Jones Quarry in Waitara where items were stolen from a shipping container on the premises.
Two days later, the rugby league clubrooms, located on Clifton Park, were burgled and clothing and gear was stuffed into bags and taken from the property.
Damage was caused to the rooms, which are the base for the Waitara Bears, after all its locked internal doors as well as locks on a fridge and freezer were forced open.
Most of the stolen items were later recovered by police.
On August 7, two outboard motors were stolen during the burglary of the Clifton Rowing Club, near the Waitara River.
The outboard motors were later found in the possession of Tony Watson Simpson, a convicted methamphetamine dealer. Last month, Simpson was jailed for eight months on charges of receiving and also possessing a small quantity of the class A drug.
Sergeant Craig Jones said an aggravating factor in the burglary of the league club was the fact Tangira had been a long-serving member and the crime had not only been a breach of trust but had also affected the other players.
Judge Garry Barkle agreed but gave Tangira credit for his guilty pleas and said the defendant had only one previous driving conviction.
Along with imposing a 19 month jail term on Tangira, the judge also ordered him to pay $3084 in reparation.
While eligible for home detention, Tangira did not have an address available to him but Judge Barkle gave him leave to apply for the electronically monitored sentence if he could secure one in the future.
An aggravating factor in the burglary of the league club was the fact Tangira had been a longserving member and the crime had not only been a breach of trust but had also affected the other players. Sergeant Craig Jones