A Queenstown builder who knocked out a pensioner with a coward’s punch knows he is on his last chance, his lawyer says.
The 68-year-old victim was walking along Buckingham St, in Arrowtown, with friends about 9pm on April 21 when he saw Cayben Rapata-Brookland, 22, throw a plastic bottle in the air.
When he walked up to Rapata-Brookland to remonstrate with him, the defendant punched him in the head, leaving him lying unconscious in the middle of the road.
After being chased down the street by one of the victim’s friends, the defendant left in his ute without helping the victim.
Police arrested him after stopping his vehicle in Arthurs Point about 15 minutes later.
He was charged with drink-driving and breaching a zero-alcohol licence after a breath test gave a result of 788mcg.
He was sentenced in the Queenstown District Court on Monday on a charge of assault with intent to injure, as well as the driving charges.
Counsel Megan Waller said the victim had "stormed up" to the defendant, who had punched him in an instinctive response.
Although that did not excuse his actions, there had been an element of provocation.
A prison sentence would expose him to negative influences, Ms Waller said.
He was "acutely aware" he was unlikely to get another chance to stay out of prison.
Rapata-Brookland’s grandmother told Judge Catriona Doyle he had taken steps to turn his life around by engaging a counsellor and a psychologist.
He had strong support from his fiancee and whanau.
Judge Doyle said home detention was appropriate, but the sentence also needed a "strong punitive element" because of the serious harm he had inflicted.
The victim had sustained a brain bleed, concussion and permanent hearing loss in his left ear. He continued to suffer from recurring headaches, nausea and tiredness.
The assault had also caused ongoing emotional distress, including frustration and anger at his injuries and affected his enjoyment of social situations.
Other aggravating factors were the victim’s age, the targeting of the head, and the fact the defendant was serving a sentence of supervision for similar offending last year.
He had other previous convictions for violent offending and drink-driving dating back to 2018.
After accounting for the defendant’s guilty plea, family support and personal factors, Judge Doyle arrived at a term of imprisonment of 20 months, which she converted to 10 months’ home detention.
She reduced that to six months’ home detention because of the time he had spent in custody or on restrictive bail conditions.
Rapata-Brookland must pay the victim $4415 reparation for emotional harm, and is disqualified from driving for 28 days with alcohol interlock provisions.
He will also be subject to post-release conditions for six months to enable intervention for his mental health and alcohol issues to continue.
