Lone defendant carrying the can

Judge Deidre Orchard, counsel Wayne Cribb and prosecutor Sergeant Peter Wackrow appeared to agree that Matthew Kyle Henry had not acted alone, although it was he who appeared before the Kaitaia District Court last week for sentence on a conviction of obtaining by deception.

The 28-year-old Awanui man was sentenced to three months’ community detention and ordered to pay $2000 reparation at $20 per week.

According to the summary of facts, an order for $5675 worth of building supplies was phoned to Carters Kaitaia in November, and charged to an account holder. The supplies were delivered to an address at Awanui, where they were accepted by the defendant.

When the account holder was billed at the end of the month he queried the charge.

Henry had told the police that he had not placed the order but had been aware that the supplies would be delivered to his address. He would not disclose who had placed the order or who had uplifted the supplies from his address.

Mr Cribb said his client could more properly have been charged with receiving. He had questioned Henry at length and had found no evidence of criminality. The defendant had received no benefit, and appeared to have been taken advantage of by at least one person.

Mr Cribb had not received clear instructions regarding how many people had been involved, and suspected that the defendant was afraid of the other offender/s.

Mr Wackrow asked that Henry be ordered to pay full reparation, but Judge Orchard declined to do so.

The judge said the general practice was to apportion a share to an offender if others were involved, even if they had not been charged.