John-Boy Toa Rakete (29) appeared in the Dunedin District Court last week, where he was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment for his most recent spree of violence which occurred at the end of 2021.
Because of the time he spent behind bars on remand, the Mongrel Mob member was released immediately.
Rakete made headlines in July 2018 when he punched 43-year-old Nigel Landreth on the forecourt of a Dunedin petrol station.
The force of the blow knocked the victim out and his head slammed into the concrete, a catastrophic impact from which he never recovered.
Rakete pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with reckless disregard and was jailed for two years and two months.
Mr Landreth was left in a vegetative state and died a couple of months after the sentencing.
Because the time span between the crime and the victim’s death was more than a year and a day, police were unable to lay more serious charges.
That legislation had since been repealed.
The gravity of that experience, though, had no lasting impact on Rakete.
The court last week heard he was at a party in Maori Hill on December 5, 2021.
An Uber driver in the area stopped to pick up a passenger but was instead viciously assaulted by an unidentified assailant.
In his desperation to find safety, he left the keys in the ignition of the vehicle.
Rakete found it in Claremont St and took off at speed.
He discarded the vehicle just a couple of streets away.
As he walked back to the party he crossed paths with a couple who had been attending a different gathering.
After asking for directions, Rakete — "swaying and intoxicated" — suddenly began yelling about the Covid-19 vaccination and that he was "pro-choice".
As the victims backed off, the defendant took off his shirt to expose a large Mongrel Mob tattoo on his back, and shouted gang slogans.
When they asked Rakete to leave them alone, he punched the man, knocking him out and sending him face first into the pavement.
Judge David Robinson said the two incidents, less than four years apart, bore "remarkable similarities".
"By this point in your life, you should appreciate the vulnerability of the head ... you’ve already taken somebody’s life in an assault in this fashion," he said.
When interviewed before sentencing, Rakete was asked about the role alcohol played in the incident.
"You say if you’d been sober, the offending may still have occurred ... underscoring your tendency for violence," the judge said.
Rakete showed no evidence of remorse and said he only admitted charges of unlawfully taking a vehicle and injuring by unlawful act because of a "plea deal".
Judge Robinson said the defendant had an "appalling" criminal history and posed a risk which seemed to be rising.
rob.kidd@odt.co.nz , Court reporter
