A man who admitted assaulting his partner was sentenced to supervision following an appearance in the Ashburton District Court this week.

Viny Ryan Tait appeared before Judge Mark Callaghan on Tuesday.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges from an incident on February 10 after Tait and his partner of 11 years got into an argument at home after a family gathering the night before.

The 32-year-old was initially charged with assaulting his partner and faced two additional charges of intentional damage. One of the intentional damage charges was upgraded to a threatening or intimidating act given he punched a hole in the wall next to his partner’s head.

Judge Callaghan said Tait punched the windows of a car when the couple got into a an argument. He went inside and pushed his partner against the wall.

Tait then grabbed her top and twisted it to hold her against the wall, before punching the wall close to her head.

Judge Callaghan said Tait had a bad history up to 2011 but had turned his life around and stopped his pattern of offending.

He only had one recent offence for violence, which occurred when he punched someone for making a rude gesture on July 23 last year.

Lawyer Gretchen Hart said Tait had self-referred for alcohol treatment and had visited his doctor when he realised he was at a crisis point, and was now on medication for his mental health and was waiting for counselling appointments.

She said Tait had damaged the windows of his own car, which had since been repaired. He had also repaired the damaged wall of the home the couple own together.

Tait was sentenced to 12 months supervision with special conditions to attend any counselling and treatment as directed by probation.

Self-medication leads to drug charges

A 39-year-old man who was self-medicating with cannabis to deal with grief, trauma and insomnia was found with a lot of cannabis after the police received a tip off from a member of the public.

Tinwald man Timothy James Butler had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of cultivating cannabis, possessing cannabis, and possessing a pipe for the use of cannabis.

Lawyer Joanna Lorrigan-Innes said Butler was self-medicating to manage grief, trauma and insomnia and was in the process of trying to get a prescription for cannabis.

She said he had one prior relevant conviction in 2008.

Judge Callaghan said said police executed a search warrant on Butler’s residence on March 8 just after noon.

The police found one mature plant in garden and 4 seedlings in closet with power and watering cans, They also found of 253g cannabis, 201g of dried plant hung out to dry and more in tin, bag, and in Butler’s car.

There was also 477.29g in forms ready to consume and two pipes for the use of cannabis.

“This is a substantial amount of cannabis – you can’t have consumed it all yourself,” the judge said.

Butler was fined a total of $750 plus $130 in court costs and sentenced to nine months supervision.

Judge Callaghan issued an order for the destruction of the cannabis and utensils.

Community detention

A man who waved a homemade bat at the occupants of a car after the driver honked the horn at him, has been given community detention.

Vinnie Luke Eaden McKersey, 21, had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing an offensive weapon after an incident just before 6.30pm on March 5.

Lawyer Tiffany McRae said McKersey accepted that it was a “stupid thing” to have a weapon in a car and wave it about as he did.

She said the occupants of another vehicle were yelling and honking at him and he was fearful.

The incident did carry on and two of his vehicles were damaged, McRae said.

Judge Callaghan sentenced McKersey to two months’ community detention with a curfew of 7pm to 4am and issued an order for the destruction of the bat.

Breach zero alcohol licence

Dunsandel man Aaron James Forde, 26, pleaded guilty to a charge of breaching a zero alcohol licence after being stopped by police on Rakaia Barhill Methven Road on February 16.

Lorrigan-Innes asked Judge Callaghan to withhold a conviction to allow Forde to apply for a discharge without conviction. She said he would lose his job if he was unable to drive.

Forde will appear again on July 29.

Guilty plea

Nakeisha Bianca Henare, 31, pleased guilty to charges of shoplifting from KMart in Ashburton on February 7 and driving while disqualified on West Street on March 18.

She will appear for sentencing on August 12.

Utensils for methamphetamine

Allan James Hislop, 40, pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing two pipes for the use of methamphetamine on May 2.

The court was told that Judge Campbell Savage had sentenced Hislop on a similar charge on May 6 and suggested that this charge, which was not yet in court, would be dealt with by a suspended sentence.

Judge Callaghan convicted Hislop and gave him an 11-month suspended sentence.

By Sharon Davis