A German bouncer imprisoned after trying to flee the country has been sentenced in Queenstown to more jail time for three assaults.
Counsel Tanya Surrey said Zeller, who had lived in New Zealand "on and off" for the past five years, ended up in Mount Eden prison because his visa had expired and he had spent all his savings on the aborted flight.
However, his family would pay for him to leave the country voluntarily at the end of his sentence, rather than allowing him to be deported.
Zeller’s predicament is the result of three assaults over a 10-month period, which Judge Russell Walker attributed to his lack of self-control, particularly when drunk.
On July 4 last year, Zeller was working as a security doorman at The Ballarat bar in central Queenstown when, at closing time, he and a colleague dragged a heavily intoxicated and unco-operative female patron from a toilet cubicle to the footpath outside.
Police said when she tried to get to her feet, he pushed her, causing her to fall to the ground.
He then repeated the action more forcefully, causing her to fall again and hit her head on the pavement.
A few weeks later, on July 29, Zeller was pretending to be a doorman at another central Queenstown bar.
When a male patron refused to agree with his demands, the defendant punched him in the face.
Finally, about 4am on May 11 this year, Zeller was in Wellington’s Courtenay Pl, when he encountered a man carrying pies to give to members of the "street community".
Zeller became upset as the two men crossed paths, prompting him to punch the man in the face.
The blow caused the victim to momentarily black out and fall to the pavement.
The victim suffered a suspected broken nose.
Zeller told police he had retaliated after the victim "stepped him out".
Judge Walker said it was clear the defendant lacked the ability to apply force appropriately, which made him unsuitable for security work.
"You resort too quickly to using physical force."
It was fortunate the three victims had not suffered more serious injuries.
After taking account of the defendant’s relative youth, guilty pleas and one previous conviction for a driving offence, he entered convictions for the assaults and imposed a sentence of three months’ prison.
— Guy Williams, PIJF court reporter
