A teenager was jailed today for wasting police time worth $37,000 with lurid tales of guns, gang violence and kidnapping.
Alex Matthew Kinsella, 19, admitted making four hoax calls to police communications in July last year while he was high on drugs and alcohol, leading to 54 police officers wasting their time
He also admitted separately threatening a man, demanding money with menaces, and dishonest use of a bankcard.
Kinsella apologised for his actions in a letter to Christchurch District Court Judge Noel Walsh, who jailed him for two years.
Defence counsel Gilbert Hay said Kinsella was willing to take part in an Odyssey House rehabilitation programme. His problems stemmed from long-standing alcohol and drug issues and choosing associates who had similar anti-social life-style, beliefs, and drug habits.
Judge Walsh said that Kinsella had used a cellphone to call police to say that his girlfriend had been kidnapped as they crossed a cemetery at Linwood, Christchurch, at night.
He could hear her screaming, but could not find her, he said. Police dog units arrived, but could not find him nor the crime scene.
He phoned again two days later to say Mongrel Mob members had tied up his aunt over a drugs matter. They had shotguns and a cut-down rifle leading to the armed offenders squad turning out.
He phoned about an incident on July 22 when he said he heard gunshots, saw gunflashes and heard screaming from a house in Oram Avenue.
Armed police found an elderly couple at home, at the end of an incident that took five-and-a-half hours to resolve.
Four days after that, he phoned to say that armed Mongrel Mob members were holding the occupants of a house hostage and he had escaped out a window. The elderly occupants were disturbed when armed police arrived.
Kinsella was found nearby with two associates and his cellphone.
Judge Walsh said Kinsella's letter showed he was an intelligent young man who could have a bright future if he could get over the drug and alcohol abuse.
"Your closest associates out in the Christchurch community are other illicit drug users."
Imposing cumulative terms totalling two years, the judge said Kinsella had already served jail time and his history of non-compliance with court orders meant home detention was inappropriate.
