Man harassed neighbours for two years
A two-year hate campaign waged by a man against a farming couple in a remote and rugged part of Taranaki has been revealed.
Peter Robin Kevin Marshall’s harassment victims live in Puniwhakau, which is about 40 kilometres inland from Stratford, near the Te Wera forest.
At the time of the offending, Marshall lived on the same stretch of rural road as the complainants.
From April 2016 to March 2018, the couple, who farm in the area, were subject to close to 100 instances of what has been deemed criminal harassment.
This included Marshall, 45, driving past the victims’ property and pulling the fingers, him appearing to take photos and videos of the pair without their permission, driving past the couple’s address either at a very fast or extremely slow speed and throwing rubbish near their property.
Marshall’s habitual hassling of the couple was in direct breach of a notice served on him by police in February 2016 to stop any behaviour towards the couple which could be considered harassment.
In one particular incident, on April 11, 2017, Marshall was driving along Puniwhakau Rd, where the victims were moving stock on the road, travelling on the back of a quad bike.
The police summary of facts said when the defendant saw them, he swerved his vehicle in their direction.
‘‘He continued driving his vehicle straight at the victims, only pulling back onto his side of the road when he was very near to them.’’
He then pointed two fingers towards the couple ‘‘like he was shooting them,’’ the police summary stated.
Left shaken, the victims rung police.
Ongoing episodes of continual hassling and verbal abuse of the couple by Marshall continued until March 2018.
The police investigation into the harassment, dubbed Operation Aqualung, involved a search warrant being executed at Marshall’s property along with an extensive ground search, covering about 300 hectares.
Police also looked into reports that 16 beehives had been stolen from the harassment complainants’ property during an overnight raid on March 12, 2017.
The beehive owner told police he had flown over the defendant’s nearby property in a helicopter and spotted the stolen hives from the air.
A search warrant was executed by police at the Marshall property and 13 of the beehives were recovered. The other three hives were never found.
After an investigation, police found the defendant’s son Regan Marshall responsible for the theft.
On Thursday, father and son appeared in the New Plymouth District Court.
Peter Marshall pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal harassment, which carries a maximum jail term of two years.
His 24-year-old son entered a guilty plea to a charge of theft.
The pair will appear for sentencing on July 24.
Ongoing episodes of continual hassling and verbal abuse of the couple by Marshall continued until March 2018.