Man who spat on cops, claiming he had Covid-19 jailed

A man who spat at police officers in Hamilton, telling them he had coronavirus during the nationwide lockdown has been jailed for five months.

That taste of life behind bars might be the wake-up call 20-yearold Emmanual Haerewa needs to change his ways, otherwise he will likely spend the rest of his life in and out of jail, Judge Kim Saunders told him during sentencing in Hamilton District Court yesterday.

The Te Awamutu man earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a police officer, one of intentionally damaging a police car, escaping custody and stealing beauty products from a Hamilton supermarket.

The charges all stem from one incident in Hamilton on April 15 when the nation was in Level 4 lockdown due to Covid-19. Officers were called to the Countdown supermarket in Liverpool St around 11.30am where Haerewa was seen shoplifting. Court documents show he stole $156.80 worth of beauty products.

Officers arrested Haerewa and put him into a patrol car where he became ‘‘angry'', the court heard. He punched the roof of the car, breaking the lights and centre console.

When his girlfriend intervened, Haerewa took the opportunity to flee from officers but was found a short time later. As officers put the 20-year-old back into the patrol car, he spat on the faces of two constables, claiming he had coronavirus. He continued spitting at them while he was being restrained.

‘‘At a time when the country was at alert level 4, that assertion by you was particularly serious and calculated to cause those officers as much harm as you could,'' Judge Saunders told the court.

‘‘Clearly you did not have Covid-19 but the officers were not to know that.''

She said Haerewa had put those officers through worrying and unnecessary concern.

Whether there was a threat of the virus or not, spitting at police was ‘‘invasive''.

In court his lawyer Glen Prentice sought a sentence of intensive supervision for his client, saying he'd already spent two months in custody and had not had an opportunity to engage in previous sentence. He would effectively be serving a sentence of intensive supervision under his release conditions.

He said his client was only 20 and took full responsibility for his actions, pleading guilty at the first appearance.

Judge Saunders said she was concerned about the 20-year-old's previous criminal history which spanned six pages. He had already received rehabilitative sentences for multiple thefts, receiving, disorderly behaviour.

Although Judge Saunders was reluctant to put someone aged 20 in prison, previous rehabilitative efforts had ‘‘simply fallen on deaf ears'', she said.

‘‘A short sentence of imprisonment may be the wakeup call you need.''

Judge Saunders began with eight months jail and added one month for previous convictions. She then allowed a 25 per cent credit for early guilty plea, ending at five months jail. On the charges of intentional damage and theft the judge sentenced Haerewa to one month jail to be served concurrently.