Offender given a dressing down
A ‘‘lippy’’ young offender who turned up in the dock wearing a singlet got a dressing down from a community magistrate.
‘‘This isn’t the beach,’’ Robyn Paterson told Jayden Pescini as she stood him down. ‘‘Go and get yourself dressed, we’re in court now.’’
The 21-year-old, who has previous offences, didn’t take the instruction well, and when asked if he had a shirt snapped back:
‘‘Are you gonna buy me one?’’
Pescini was only allowed back in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday after another offender from the gallery lent him a sports top with which to cover up.
Clothed with his borrowed top, Pescini re-entered the dock a short time later where the court heard the beneficiary had stolen about 63 litres of petrol from Eliot St’s Caltex on November 14.
Pescini had tried to pay the $120 for the petrol but his eftpos card was declined.
He signed a non-payment form at the petrol station’s request and left behind a car stereo head unit as security, with the promise of returning later in the day to pay.
But Pescini failed to return and in his defence he told the court his actions were ‘‘stupid’’.
He also said he believed he had money in his bank account, which was why he had filled up his tank.
Pescini sought to be sentenced with a fine, which he offered to pay back at $10 per week.
Paterson told him he needed to find a job and would be facing more than a monetary penalty as he already owed more than $3000 in fines for which no repayment arrangements had been made.
‘‘We do not run an interest-free finance company here for you to rack up fines and then decide not to pay them,’’ she said.
‘‘We weren’t all brought up fancy pantsy,’’ he retorted.
Pescini was told by Paterson not to say another word.
‘‘I would be really careful if I were you because you’re fairly lippy. You’ve got a lot to say for yourself but the world doesn’t actually swing around you, it swings around the law.’’
Pescini was sentenced to 50 hours community work and ordered to pay $120 reparation to Caltex.
‘‘Next time you come to court, if you do, and I hope you don’t, tidy yourself up.’’
Paterson later thanked the other offender for loaning his shirt to Pescini.
It was not the first time Pescini had been before the court.
In 2014, when he was 17 and working as a squeegee bandit/ windscreen washer in New Plymouth, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a driver, whom he believed had verbally assaulted another window washer, as well as a police officer who attended.
Later, another driver, Chris Pester, tried to help the young man find labouring work after Pescini dented his car.
When Pescini appeared in court for the two assaults he was praised by Judge Allan Roberts for turning his life around and sentenced to a good behaviour bond.
But later that year he was jailed for 15 months by the same judge for a ‘‘deplorable’’ attack on international triathlete whom he punched and kicked in the face.