Longer sentence for attack on guards

AUCKLAND: A maximumsecurity prisoner who tried to ‘‘shank’’ a group of guards at Paremoremo has had his jail term extended by nearly eight years.

Patrick Waru (26) was already serving a 13year jail sentence for a range of violent offences when he and two other inmates attacked a group of six guards with makeshift metal blades at Auckland Prison last October.

The court heard the trio jumped one of the guards lead ing others to join and leaving the officers with stab wounds, cuts and bruises, including to their necks and faces.

Waru pleaded guilty to 13 charges over the incident.

At a sentencing yesterday, his lawyer, Annabel MaxwellScott, told the High Court at Auckland her client had only spent two months outside jail since turning 16.

He had been taken into Child Youth and Family care at birth and had been through a series of foster homes.

‘‘He hasn’t really been given much of a chance in life,’’ Ms MaxwellScott said.

His life goal was to be out of prison before the age of 40.

Waru had covered himself in tattoos, including one across most of his face, because he was short and wanted to look tougher, she said.

While the attack was serious, it had been ‘‘futile’’, the result of frustration and not particularly sophisticated, she said.

Prosecutor Scott McColgan told the court the attack had left the Corrections officers wary of prisoners and undermined their efforts to build relationships with inmates.

Stabresistant body armour prevented more grave wounds, he said.

Justice Edwin Wylie handed down a sentence of seven years’ and 10 months’ jail.

Waru’s sentence would have ended in 2021. He will now be eligible for parole in about 2024, with a full sentence due to end in 2028. — NZN