Chch teen appeals sentence for fatal punch in Countdown car park

A teenager who killed another teen by punching him in the head has appealed his sentence of three years imprisonment, arguing that the punishment he received is “not a good fit” for the crime he committed.

Armani Williams, 18, was jailed for three years after fatally punching 18-year-old Levi Haami at the Countdown car park on Moorhouse Ave, Christchurch, on December 4, 2021. Williams was 16 at the time.

Williams had been driving past Haami, who was urinating in the car park when Haami questioned Williams about looking at his private parts.

Williams then approached Haami and delivered the fatal blow to the left side of his mouth, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the concrete.

Haami suffered catastrophic brain injuries and died in Christchurch Hospital the next day.

In May last year, Williams pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter, which had been downgraded from murder at the High Court in Christchurch, and was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

On Thursday, at the High Court at Christchurch, Williams appealed his sentence through his lawyer Ethan Huda, arguing that the five-year starting point the judge adopted at his sentencing was too high and that his “youth and background merit higher reductions”.

Huda referred to teen killer Mark Nagel, who was sentenced to two years imprisonment with the option to apply for home detention last month for killing 61-year-old Anthony Kelly with a martial arts-style kick to his head.

He said that in Nagel’s case it was a group attack against an elderly person, where the judge took a starting point of four-and-a-half years imprisonment.

In Williams’ case, however, the punch was delivered to a young man who was “not frail” and he received a starting point of five years imprisonment.

“There’s a symmetry in these cases,” Huda said, pointing out that the sentencing judge for Nagel arrived at that starting point by assessing a number of relevant cases.

However, Crown prosecutor Kerry White said Williams accepted a sentence indication that stated a starting point of five years would be adopted.

She said Williams approached Haami with a “high level of aggression” and anger before delivering a forceful blow to the left side of his mouth.

While White accepted that Williams had a difficult upbringing, she said there were periods when he was in the care of a family who loved and cared for him.

Huda said his client was 16 at the time of the offence, was diagnosed with ADHD and had told a probation officer he “deserves to be locked up” for what he did.

Huda said neurological development may not be complete until the age of 25 and said Williams received a 10 per cent discount for his youth when a discount of at least 15 per cent should have been available.

“One young man looking at another young man urinating, it’s silly, it’s sad,” Huda said.

Huda argued that a shorter term of imprisonment is warranted for his client due to his youth and background factors.

The public gallery was packed with family and friends of Haami, wearing shirts with his face on.

The panel of judges thanked Haami’s family and friends for attending court and acknowledged how difficult it is to sit through a hearing of this kind. They reserved their decision.

-By Emily Moorhouse
Open Justice multimedia journalist