Deportee jailed for violent acts

A New Zealand-raised man says being deported from Australia for violent offending and the subsequent separation from his children had sparked his drug addiction, which he beat and attempted to rob a man in order to fund.

Brook Michael Warena, 26, of Timaru, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and issued his first strike under the three-strikes law when he appeared before Judge Joanna Maze in the Timaru District Court on Tuesday.

The defendant had pleaded guilty to assault with intent to rob, theft, and assault with intent to injure.

Warena demanded personal bank details from a man and punched him in the face when he was not forthcoming with them, during an assault that allegedly involved multiple people in Timaru, about 10pm on October 16, 2018.

The victim was allegedly ambushed by ‘‘heavily disguised’’ people wearing hooded sweatshirts, hats, and facial coverings after exiting his car on Vinnell St, Crown prosecutor Helen Bennett said.

The victim was forced back into his own vehicle and driven to an automated teller machine, but attempts to withdraw money were unsuccessful.

One other person has been charged in relation to the incident. She has not yet entered a plea and will next appear in court on December 9.

‘‘Inquiries are continuing in an effort to identify further offenders,’’ Bennett said.

While on bail, Warena was charged with theft in January and assault with intent to injure in February, after which he was taken into custody.

Judge Maze said Warena – a New Zealander who had moved to Australia, only to be deported when he was convicted for violent offending – had fallen into a methamphetamine and cannabis addiction upon his return, due to losing contact with his children who still lived in Australia.

To source the drugs, the defendant had become mixed up with the wrong crowd, the judge said.

‘‘You are seriously disappointed in your own actions.’’

Warena, while motivated to rehabilitate once he was released back into the community, posed a high risk of reoffending, Judge Maze said.

‘‘Remaining drug free will become an important factor in the re-evaluation of that risk.’’

Warena was ‘‘close to release’’ as he had already spent about 10 months in custody, the judge said.