Waikato man Hikurangi Harrison found with .22 shotgun in car, 30cm knife shoved in air vent
It came several months after he’d purposely driven his car into vehicles, one of which had two small children inside, as he drove around the streets of Ngaruawahia.
No one was injured.
Harrison, who had been involved in a serious car crash years earlier that left him with a head injury and reliant on a walking stick, appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Friday for sentencing on multiple charges from two separate incidents.
The first was on the afternoon of June 29, 2023, when a victim saw Harrison involved in a minor collision at the intersection of Ellery and Herschel streets.
The motorist followed him to get his details but Harrison did a U-turn and drove straight towards him. He hit the right-wheel guard of the trailer he was towing, causing a small dent.
Harrison drove off, with a “significantly damaged” right front tyre, at 80-90km/h in a 50km/h zone.
He then entered a roundabout the wrong way and crashed into another vehicle being driven by a father with his 3-year-old and 7-month-old as passengers.
Harrison’s car scraped the rear panel but no one was injured.
He drove off without checking on the occupants and was eventually stopped by the first victim who blocked him in on Te Wiata Lane.
Judge Glen Marshall warned Harrison, who was supported in court by whānau, that if he reoffended, “things could get more difficult” for him.
After taking a 23-month jail starting point, the judge allowed 20% discount for his guilty pleas and a further 10% for the “considerable difficulties” he continues to suffer, including his head injury, from his previous crash.
Judge Marshall got down to 16 months’ jail before converting it to six months’ home detention.
The judge also ordered the destruction of the firearm and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
Harrison was also ordered to pay back the second victim’s $500 insurance excess at $10 a week.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.