Danielle Kelly Brown, 30, was before the Invercargill District Court this week to be sentenced for her threatening behaviour towards the owners of a caravan hire business.
After a civil dispute over her use of one of their vans, Brown sent the owners social media messages in May warning them she was ‘‘unhinged’’, the court heard.
‘‘You are really pushing my mental health far over the edge and it’s not something you want to fall victim to,’’ another message read.
That same day the defendant entered the complainants’ business, keying one of their personal cars before smashing a pane of glass in the office.
She then went upstairs to where the victims lived and banged on the door, shouting abuse and telling them to come outside.
Following the offending, she sent more messages to the victims saying she ‘‘might set fire to your whole yard next’’.
In court, Judge Mark Williams said he could see no evidence of the woman’s remorse, quoting a pre-sentence report in which she said she would rather ‘‘die on a hill’’ than apologise.
Her lawyer Keith Owen said Brown’s sentence should reflect that she had not previously been before the court.
‘‘Ms Brown, not to her credit, has been very frank to the report writer, sir, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be treated as a first-time offender.’’
In their victim impact statements the couple said they felt vulnerable and could not sleep.
‘‘The victims in this matter don’t need your attention and you need to move on from it,’’ the judge said.
For the charges of speaking threateningly, two of wilful damage and theft of the package, Brown was sentenced to 12 months’ supervision and ordered to pay reparation of $995.52 for damage to the car.
