An innocent member of the public who was chased from his car and beaten in a medical centre car park was not only left traumatised but with a broken jaw only held together by flesh and skin.
Now the man behind the beating, Joshua Paul Webb, has asked Corrections to "treat him with the respect he deserves" as he was jailed for the unprovoked attack.
Webb, 25, appeared at the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday where he was jailed for four years and nine months for the attack and possessing drugs and firearms.
He was charged with injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, possession of a class A controlled drug for supply, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition and refusing to provide police with his cellphone pin code.
Webb’s lawyer Joshua Lucas said his client’s time in prison hadn’t been the best, stating he needed to be treated with "the respect he deserves", suggesting that there had been "breaches of privacy" while Webb had been in custody. No further information was given to the court about what those breaches were.
According to the summary of facts on December 18, 2021, about 2.40am, the victim was sitting in his car on Ferry Rd near the intersection of Grafton St in Christchurch.
He had offered a ride to an unknown man he had spoken to at a nearby 24-hour bakery, who had got into the passenger seat.
Before the victim drove off Webb and an unidentified associate approached the car. They split and went to either side of the passenger and driver door before they began attacking the men in the car.
The victim could not recall if it was Webb or his associate that began attacking him.
The victim was punched multiple times in the head while he was still seated in the car. At some point the passenger was able to escape and fled the area, resulting in the victim becoming the main target.
The victim managed to exit the vehicle and ran down Ferry Rd while closely pursued by Webb and his associate.
The two men caught up to the victim at the Ferry Road Medical Centre and continued the attack.
The victim fell to the ground and curled up into a ball, covering his head with his arms and Webb and his associate began stomping on and kicking the victim.
The victim suffered multiple fractures to his jaw and eye socket which required multiple surgeries. He also had swelling and bruising on his face and a ripped earlobe which required stitches and grazing to his arms and legs.
Police found a .223 Remington rifle with 59 rounds of ammunition, $200,808 in cash and coins and 196.5 grams of methamphetamine in plastic ziplock bags. A set of scales and a "tick list" was also found.
Following his arrest Webb was asked for the pin code to his cellphone which he refused to give.
When he was questioned, Webb denied assaulting the victim on Ferry Rd and said the firearm was for hunting.
In relation to the "tick list," Webb said it wasn’t for drugs but for purchases of multiple small canisters of Nitrous Oxide (NOS) which he sells to people who want to bake cakes.
But Judge Raoul Neave wasn’t convinced by this explanation, stating the "enormous" amount of money in Webb’s possession "speaks volumes" to his involvement in relation to the supply of meth.
Judge Neave said the victim, who was an "utterly innocent member of the public" had suffered head trauma, a broken jaw only held together by flesh and skin and had to undergo multiple operations which caused him financial loss.
Lucas said Webb was willing to engage in a restorative justice meeting with the victim, but this didn’t go ahead. He asked the judge to give his client discounts for his guilty pleas and prospects for rehabilitation.
He also said Webb had completed a variety of programmes while in prison such as NCEA level 3 and parenting courses and is looking forward to the future, stating he doesn’t want to come back before the courts.
He took into account Webb’s guilty pleas and prospects for rehabilitation, arriving at an end sentence of four years and nine months imprisonment.
By Emily Moorhouse
Open Justice multimedia journalist
