Jail for man after beating and burglary

"You're locked in, we're going to come in and take turns on you all day, you're going to die today."

Raymond John Lewis Govenor

An offender has been jailed for the brutal assault and burglary of a New Plymouth man.

On February 2, Raymond John Lewis Govenor was sentenced to a prison term of four years and eight months after he pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, injures with intent to injure and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The 34-year-old’s co-offenders have also pleaded guilty to their role in the offending.

Alistair John Fox pleaded guilty to burglary and Philip Free Knuckey pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Both men will be sentenced on March 9 in the New Plymouth District Court.

The summary of facts said about 8am on March 13, 2016, Govenor and Fox arrived at the victim’s Awanui St home. After waking him up, the victim opened the front door and was confronted by Govenor.

Govenor punched the man in the face, causing him to hunch over in pain. Govenor and Fox then entered the address and made the victim sit at a table in the living room.

At this point, the victim made an attempt to escape out the second storey window but was dragged back inside by the two defendants. He was then made to surrender his keys and cellphone to Govenor.

Govenor then threatened the victim and stated he had a group of people waiting down the road to help dish out a violent beating.

‘‘You can’t go anywhere, you’re locked in, we’re going to come in and take turns on you all day, you’re going to die today,’’ Govenor told the victim.

Govenor then punched the man in the face causing his nose to bleed heavily. The defendant retrieved a dart from a nearby wall and placed it between his knuckles before repeatedly punching the victim in the shoulder.

Fox then told the man they were willing to trade his life for one of the victim’s cars. Govenor interjected and told the man they would be taking his restored Mazda 323 vehicle.

The victims’s car and other personal property including tools and an air compressor, were loaded on the back of a trailer before the defendants left the address.

As a result of Govenor’s assault, the victim suffered a badly broken nose and facial bruising, along with seven minor puncture marks to his left shoulder.

Following his arrest for the assault and his subsequent remand in custody, Govenor, with assistance from Knuckey, tried to put pressure on the victim to retract his police statement.

The guilty pleas bring an end to the long running legal case.

In June 2017 Govenor, Fox and Knuckey went on trial in the New Plymouth District Court after initially pleading not guilty to a variety of charges in connection with the March 13, 2016 incident.

However, a mistrial was declared in the case by Judge Chris Sygrove. The reasons for the decision were suppressed by the court.

A new trial date was set but was not required due to the change in pleas.