Kaleb Quintin Dreadon (21) appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday on five charges, the last of which came from him throwing a can of spaghetti at a vehicle passing his home.
The defendant had no memory of the incidents and a defence of insanity had been assessed, though a clinician later found no evidence of any causative psychiatric issue.
"You were taking on some form of survival challenge where you were stressing your body by constant exercise and limited food and fluid intake," Judge David Robinson said.
"The only scenario that really seems plausible is these actions have had the effect of creating some form of illness or disorder such that you have offended in the way you did."
On April 29, police transported Dreadon to Dunedin Hospital after concerns had been raised about his state.
Without warning, he head-butted one constable in the temple then bit him in the upper arm with such force he drew blood.
Shortly afterwards the defendant continued lashing out in the police cells and six officers were required to restrain him, the court heard.
One officer was head-butted before Dreadon was sedated.
The next day he was being supervised by a hospital security staff member while he vaped at the entrance.
When the victim was distracted, Dreadon "roundhouse kicked" him to the side of the head.
After being charged, he was released on bail but the wayward behaviour continued.
Towards the end of May he used a metal baseball bat to cause $1600 of damage to the flat in which he was living.
Then came the final episode on June 6.
Dreadon threw numerous items — including car tyres, electronics and furniture — from the balcony of his home into Serpentine Ave.
While one motorist slowed to evade the detritus, the defendant took aim with a can of spaghetti, which hit the driver’s side window.
The victim said the incident caused extreme distress to family members who were in the car at the time, particularly a child who was "hysterical and inconsolable".
Counsel Meg Scally accepted it was a "quite bizarre set of circumstances".
Dreadon had suffered head injuries in the past but the exact cause of his outbursts could not be determined, she said.
A Probation officer said that the defendant’s escalating violent conduct was of particular concern given that he was involved in mixed martial arts training with a local group.
He was assessed as presenting a medium risk of reoffending and harm to others.
Dreadon was convicted of injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, assault, intentional damage and criminal nuisance and jailed for 23 months.
He was allowed leave to apply for home detention should a viable address be found.
