Two men who desecrated a Waikato cemetery by burning graves and a nearby lawn have learned their fate.
“You are someone who thinks a motor vehicle is a toy,” Judge Robert Spear said as he sentenced 24-year-old Monty Smith in Hamilton District Court on Monday.
“It is an offense that defies all form of understanding. You are doing good work, and in other ways you are advancing in life, and here you are desecrating a graveyard of all places.
In an incident that has sparked outrage in nearby Cambridge, a lawn, berms and at least one grave were deliberately driven to Hautapu Cemetery on the night of Monday August 1. Deep skid marks near the RSA section of the cemetery left a dramatic revealer of the exploits of the offenders.
Tom Lee / Stuff
Monty Smith, 24, of Leamington, Cambridge, makes a defiant gesture after leaving Hamilton District Court following an earlier appearance.
About $3,000 in damage was done to the cemetery.
Smith, 19-year-old Haka Tutaki and another man – who still denies the charges against him – were soon after identified as the culprits and arrested. Smith and Tutaki were charged with willful damage and loss of traction suffered while in charge of a motor vehicle. Tutaki was also charged with drunk driving.
The pair had previously been charged with ‘inappropriately interfering with the human remains of two unknown deceased persons’ – but these were dropped when they pleaded guilty in September.
Ironically, Smith and Tutaki had attended a mutual friend’s funeral earlier in the day before they started drinking and made the decision to return to the cemetery around 8 p.m.
Burial plots were crossed and the grass near the graves was turned into a tapestry of exhaustion marks after the visitation.
In court, Smith’s attorney, Garth O’Brien, said he had “signified his regret and remorse” with a guilty plea and the impending payment of $1,000 in reparations to Waipa District Council – its share of a third party for the cost of repairing the damage.
SUPPLIED/Waikato Times
Overnight damage to Hautapu Cemetery near Cambridge
Judge Spear left the couple in no doubt about his view of their actions.
“Explaining why a young person behaves in such a way almost defies reality,” he told Smith.
Smith had previous convictions to his name – two counts of drunk driving from 2017 and 2018 and two for loss of traction.
“It looks like you were one of the ringleaders of this damage, because you’re used to it.”
He ordered Smith to pay reparations and sentenced him to 12 months of supervision and three months of community detention – “so it takes you all summer”.
Things
Haka Tutaki leaves Hamilton District Court after an earlier appearance.
He also banned Smith from driving for nine months.
“Mr. O’Brien suggested you take a bike, and that makes a lot of sense.”
He also had a warning for Smith.
“You develop a track record and unless you learn from that you will find that your whole life will be ruined by this kind of offence.”
Tutaki received a different result. Through his lawyer Catriona Kunac, he successfully applied for a non-conviction release on the grounds that his future employment prospects would be irreparably damaged by such a black mark against his name.
Like Smith, Tutaki worked in the horse racing industry and he aspired to one day become a trainer.
PROVIDED
The RSA section of the cemetery was near the area the goons hit.
Unlike Smith, he had no previous convictions. He had also taken alcohol advice and completed 30 hours of painting and wet-stripping at a local kohanga reo.
“You are in another category [to Smith] … I am convinced that a young man like you would have been influenced by this older person.
Tutaki was “a young man who made stupid mistakes and stupid misjudgments”.
However, he did not escape entirely without penalty. Judge Spear banned him from driving and ordered him to pay his share of $1,000 in damages.
The third man, 24, also faces similar charges in relation to the incident, as well as an additional charge of obstructing the course of justice.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due to appear for a case review hearing on November 15.
Among Smith and Tutaki’s supporters in court was Wendy Campbell, the mother of 23-year-old Samuel Campbell, whose funeral the couple had attended earlier in the day.
“I was totally disgusted by what they did. It hurt a lot of people.”
She had gone to her son’s grave to check it for damage the next morning and was dismayed when she found the defendants were present at her son’s funeral.
Despite this, she had forgiven the couple.
“It was a dumb, stupid thing they did, but they didn’t do it with bad intent…they admitted it.”
