A recidivist offender has been jailed again for bottling her partner in the head and kicking him in the face.
Bridget Ann Holt, 48, has "always had poor impulse control", counsel Rhona Daysh said this week in the Dunedin District Court.
"Misuse of alcohol and street drugs have been her nemesis and her enemy ... she has taken them to her detriment.
Holt had reportedly been offending since 1994, racking up 77 convictions over three decades.
On February 2, an informant told police Holt was at his address acting in a violent manner and it was escalating.
He told police the woman was engaging in verbal and physical abuse against her partner.
She refused to leave and had been throwing assorted items around the home.
When police arrived she was highly agitated and aggressive.
As Holt was handcuffed she launched a forceful kick at her partner’s face.
She inflicted claw marks, bruises and cuts to the man’s head and neck.
Holt told police they had been fighting for 48 hours.
While on bail for this assault, the defendant defied court orders by meeting up with her partner.
As the two talked in a parked car, Holt picked up a glass bottle and smashed it on the back of her partner’s head — causing a cut.
Despite being disqualified from driving and more than almost five times the legal limit (221mg), Holt drove away and was spotted by police in Anzac Ave.
She failed to stop for police and drove through a red light.
Ms Daysh argued for a sentence of intensive supervision rather than jail time.
"She needs structure and help. More imprisonment, more time behind bars, I don’t think that would do anything at all."
Judge Emma Smith was not convinced.
"What about the other eight times she has been sentenced to intensive supervision?
"There has been a fractious, unhealthy and violent relationship with the [victim] ... You are a prolific criminal. You will not comply with the court sentences even though they are designed to help you."
Holt was sentenced to 22 months’ imprisonment, ordered to pay the victim $1119, disqualified from driving for six months and subject to alcohol-interlock provisions.
