Drug debt fuels theft, arson

Thief tells judge he is sorry and determined to free himself of his meth addiction

Aman was high on meth and fearful of the drug debt he was incurring when he broke into the yard of a steel fabrication business and stole a vehicle, fleecing it of tools and then torching it, leaving the business more than $100,000 out of pocket.

Now the thief, Taylor Harris, has told Judge Kim Saunders he is sorry and determined to free himself of his addiction.

At his sentencing on Friday last week, the Hamilton District Court heard Harris went to Pratts Milking premises in Bond Rd, Te Awamutu, about 1.30am on February 14.

Armed with a hatchet, he hacked a hole through the fence and tried unsuccessfully to smash his way through a back door.

He then found the power board, disabled the security lights and walked around the back, where he found an Isuzu truck full of tools and with the keys inside.

He drove off in the truck at speed, smashing through a gate and driving for about 5km before stopping.

Harris nabbed the tools from the truck and then set the vehicle, worth $60,000, on fire.

The tools were worth about $50,00 and the total loss incurred by the company was $116,643.

Harris’ lawyer, Philip Morgan, KC, told the court his client’s meth habit was the root of his offending.

“He has to steal to avoid the consequences of owing people money and that led him to the position he is in.”

The best way for him to properly rehabilitate was to serve a short jail term and then be put on release conditions by the Parole Board, Morgan submitted.

“This is a man who needs topquality help and he is very committed to achieving it.

“He and I and his mother say no to the notion of home detention because it’s not going to work for him.

“He is genuinely apologetic for what he has done, particularly the cost of what he has done.”

When questioned by Judge Saunders about paying reparation, Morgan said Harris already had $8000 worth of fines and adding to that would “just be setting him up to fail”.

“He won’t be able to pay it any time soon and I really think it’s better to cut the Gordian knot and get him on a better path.”

Judge Saunders said Harris was no stranger to the court, with 17 previous convictions, though none were on charges as serious as the latest.

She acknowledged his upbringing was tainted by physical and psychological abuse.

His parents separated when they were young and while “life was good” for him between the ages of 10 and 20, it deteriorated once he reconnected with his father and delved into drug abuse.

The judge accepted Harris was both remorseful and insightful about what happened.

He had also been offered a job once he’d completed his drug treatment.

“So certainly your future is looking a lot more positive than your past has been.

“I accept you had to pay a drug debt but to repay that you specifically targeted the complainant’s premises . . . you then took the truck and tools.

“That may have been an opportunistic act but it was planned, it was premeditated and intentional.

“Certainly the burglary saw determined conduct on your part to get something to make money from.”

The fact he was high did not diminish his culpability, she said.

She sentenced him to 27 months’ jail.