Muffin tossed at judge in courtroom
A muffin was used as a missile in the Hamilton District Court on Wednesday, after a man sitting in the public gallery of a courtroom lost his temper during a sentencing.
The muffin – understood to be chocolate chip-flavoured – was hurled at Judge Philip Crayton during the sentencing of a man for sexual offences by a brother of the defendant, who was in court with other family members in support of him.
The projectile, hurled at the judge in the manner of a baseball, missed its target.
However, the front of the judge’s bench and the area where the court registrars were sitting was splattered with the remains of the sweet treat.
The judge rose and swiftly left the courtroom as security guards – one of whom was in the room – quickly apprehended the thrower and took him downstairs to the courthouse cells.
Within 10 minutes the mess had been cleaned up, the judge had returned, and the sentencing proceeded.
The muffin-throwing incident evidently took everyone by surprise – with one participant sitting in the body of the court being so shocked she was moved to tears.
However, the violent act was not completely unheralded. At the commencement of sentencing the sister of the defendant addressed the court and said her brother was innocent and ‘‘has a kind, loving heart’’. The defendant had earlier been found guilty by a jury of rape and indecent assault. Soon afterwards, the sister became irate and began interjecting as defence counsel Rosalind Brown and the judge were speaking, and had to be removed from the courtroom by a security guard.
The soon-to-be-muffinchucker remained behind in the courtroom, however, it was not long before he also became agitated by Brown’s and Crayton’s discussions about discounts for the final sentence.
The name of the defendant who was being sentenced at the time cannot be revealed without leading to the identification of his victim. He was ultimately jailed for six years and two months. The fate of his brother remains, as of Wednesday afternoon, unknown.