Caleb Neil Fleming, 23, is serving a near five-year term and the Parole Board, in a recently released decision, noted he had been transferred to Auckland Prison as a maximum-security inmate.
Because of his classification, he had not been approved for rehabilitation programmes, and early release was refused.
After serving a previous jail term, Fleming came to Dunedin in 2021 seeking a fresh start, the Dunedin District Court heard at sentencing last year.
While using a computer at the library, he spoke to Andrew Lim who, after hearing of the man’s plight, offered him a bed at the home he shared with his mother.
"We treated him as family; he had a room, three meals a day," Mr Lim told the Otago Daily Times.
"We introduced him to our church in Musselburgh."
But after just five days of their hospitality, Fleming took Mr Lim’s Toyota and drove south — in breach of a disqualification he was serving.
With a piece of material covering his face, he grabbed a tyre iron from the boot and entered Food For Thought in Clinton, demanding cash and cigarettes.
On his way out, the defendant robbed a shopper of $30.
Police found him on the way to Balclutha and he appeared to give himself up, pulling over in State Highway1.
But when officers left their vehicle, Fleming sped off.
Shortly after the pursuit was abandoned, he crashed into a sign outside the Rosebank Lodge Motor Hotel.
He fled on foot, but was quickly arrested.
Mr Lim, whose car was written off, told the court he classed himself as a friend of Fleming as well as a victim.
Despite the crimes, his compassion endured.
"We could have chosen to wallow in anger," he said.
"Me and Mum instead choose forgiveness and reconciliation ... We believe in giving people a second chance."
After five months at the Otago Corrections Facility, Fleming’s impulsive streak re-emerged.
Prison staff found the inmate had smashed a window and suspected he had made a "shank" from the shards of glass.
Fleming handed over one of the improvised weapons, which had been wrapped in strips of torn bedding, but staff were concerned there were more.
When the defendant was placed in a cell to be strip searched he pulled out a second shank and lunged at a Corrections officer.
It took four staff to subdue him and as he was being restrained, he lashed out with the weapon.
"As the victim held the defendant in a headlock, he saw the shank pass his eyes twice, and on one occasion felt the sharp metal contact his face," court documents said.
The officer sustained a small abrasion above his eye and, after a 20-minute struggle, Fleming was returned to his cell.
At a hearing last month, the Parole Board heard his wild behaviour behind bars had continued.
Panel convener Judge Arthur Tompkins noted a description in one report of "unrelenting misconducts".
Fleming had recently begun working with a psychologist, which had resulted in an improvement in his behaviour, but access to drug counselling was at least three months away, the board heard.
He will appear before the Parole Board again in May next year.
