Magistrates Court Police Assaulter Imprisoned (Press, 30 April 1976)

George Ngaranoa Raharaha, a 24-year-old labourer, was sentenced to two months imprisonment by the Magistrate's Court on 30 April 1976 for assaulting a constable and failing to report for periodic detention. This incident marked the third time Raharaha had assaulted a policeman. He was also convicted and discharged on charges of disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest, having pleaded guilty to four charges overall. The court heard that Raharaha failed to report to a detention centre on 2 November after being sentenced to three months periodic detention on 9 October. On 9 April, when a constable found him behind a shop acting suspiciously, Raharaha responded by punching the constable in the eye and resisting arrest. In a separate case, 17-year-old Philip Alan Duxbury was sentenced to four months of periodic detention for assaulting another man in a car park toilet, prompted by a perceived homosexual advance. Duxbury pleaded guilty, and his counsel noted there had been confusion over the situation and that Duxbury had been unjustified in his violent response. William Robert Aitken, 35 years old and unemployed, was remanded to 5 May for a medical report and sentence after knocking his wife unconscious with a glass of beer and threatening police officers with a carving knife. He had pleaded guilty to two charges of assault, and his counsel stated that Aitken, who battled alcoholism, had voluntarily sought treatment at Sunnyside Hospital. Jeremy Mattave Livisone, a 20-year-old labourer, was convicted of burglary and unlawfully entering premises. Livisone and three associates stole property worth $1,090 and were scheduled to be sentenced on 6 May. The police recovered some stolen clothing but sought restitution for the remaining property. Steven Johnson, 27, was remanded to 6 May after pleading guilty to possessing and supplying cannabis. The drugs were discovered during a police search of his residence, and Johnson claimed he received the cannabis as payment for a tattoo. In another incident, 19-year-old John Frederick Pragneil was convicted of having an offensive weapon after waving a piece of wood while fleeing from a constable. He was remanded on bail for sentencing on 6 May. Michael Maurice Bailey, aged 21, was found driving a $9,000 car while intoxicated and was also charged with failing to report to a periodic detention centre and using obscene language. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded for sentence but was ordered to undergo an assessment for alcoholism. Albert Gordon Robert Millin, 22, faced charges of stealing two tyres valued at $68.32. During testimony, witnesses recounted seeing the tyres fall from a truck, and a man had attempted to extort a reward for their return. Millin denied the charges initially but later admitted to taking the tyres and offered to return them. The Magistrate found the charges proved due to the nature of his actions.

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