Heat on after unlawful entry

WET COAST

A MAN who got a hot mouth eating chillies out of a stranger’s garden in Greymouth admitted in the Greymouth District Court to being unlawfully in an enclosed yard.

On March 20 Jaylan Heaslip and an associate stopped at the property in Lydia St and started picking chillies and eating them.

Police prosecutor Stewart Sluis said the chillies were too hot for Heaslip and he started eating other vegetables, including tomatoes and cucumbers, to cool his mouth down.

‘‘Heaslip ruined months’ worth of veges,’’ Mr Sluis said.

Heaslip also admitted two charges of assault, and failing to answer district court bail. The assaults arose from an incident at McDonald’s, when he took offence to something two others at the fast food outlet said when he walked past them. He punched one of them in the head.

Lawyer George Linder said it was Heaslip’s first time before the court and he wanted the matter dealt with quickly.

‘‘His girlfriend is pregnant and he wants to clean up his act. He has stopped drinking and given up the cannabis,’’ Mr Linder said.

He was hoping for a sentence of supervision to get help with his use of alcohol and possibly drugs.

Judge Quentin Hix said after reading the victim impact statement from the owner of the garden, he thought restorative justice would be a useful process, so Heaslip was further remanded to allow that.

Depending on the outcome he will now be sentenced on September 23. — Greymouth Star