Two men who attacked a fellow inmate in the recreation yard have been sentenced to further jail time.
Hawi Kingi (21), of Napier, and Jahmyn Inia (25), of Ngaruawahia, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The pair were charged alongside Wade Dylan Junior Bartlett (33) who orchestrated the prison-yard attack at Otago Corrections Facility (OCF).
When the trio were transported to Dunedin District Court to appear in front of a judge on the charge, Bartlett turned on his co-defendant as they waited in the cells.
The ensuing attack saw Kingi admitted to hospital with facial injuries and it is understood the Crown may pursue a preventive detention sentence when Bartlett is sentenced next month.
Judge David Saunders said the OCF incident occurred on April 1.
"April 1 is often referred to as April Fool’s day, and you made a very foolish decision to involve yourself in a prison skirmish in the block you were housed in," he told Inia.
The men were captured on CCTV approaching a prisoner who was alone at the time.
While Bartlett was the aggressor, police prosecutor Stewart Sluis said Kingi was a willing accomplice.
He punched the victim eight times in the head, aimed 10 blows to the same area using his knee and then, while the man was unconscious on the floor, inflicted nine kicks and stomps.
Inia was the least involved, offering a kick and a punch during the fracas.
Court documents revealed the victim — also behind bars for violent offending — sustained "gross swelling" to both eyes, various lacerations, bruising and concussion.
However, at a meeting with Inia he admitted some fault in the situation and said he expected retribution.
Inia’s defence counsel Rhona Daysh said her client received his first prison sentence at age 18 and had racked up 52 convictions.
He was currently serving five years and three months for aggravated burglary and Ms Daysh urged the court not to impose a sentence that meant the defendant became totally institutionalised.
A similar plea was made by Kingi’s counsel Andy Belcher.
His client was doing a three-year-nine-month stretch for burglary and he said he "deserves a bit of a break".
"My impression of him is he’s not a bad lad really. That’s not what the summary of facts tells you or his history," he said.
Judge Saunders said Kingi had to change his mindset if he wanted to avoid a life in and out of prison.
"If you wish to immerse yourself in gang culture where you join in an in unthinking way in prison brawls you’ll be there for a long time not a good time," he said.
"In short, you need to get rid of this idea you can resolve your problems with your fists."
He was sentenced to two and a-half years, to be added to his existing term.
Inia got two years but because the crime constituted his second strike he would have to serve that entire term before being eligible for parole.
