Hunters

 journal 12th April 2014

When the police arrived I was sitting in my kitchen at 42 Spencer Avenue. It didn't take them (there were two of them) long to inform me that they had a complaint against me, and that I was under arrest. They had a look at my car and noted the crack in the windscreen, and had a look inside, it was empty, and took a stick from the back seat. It was half a slasher handle, anout two feet long, made of hickory wood, with the word Noh written on it in mandarin. I used it as a lever for getting my steering lock off, but they thought it could potentially be used as a weapon. Despite several letters to them I have been unable to get it returned. Then they put me in the police car and drove me to the Te Puke police station.

After the wine I had consumed, I was starting to feel quite intoxicated. They said they would  breath test me, and the time was noted. They said I was over the limit for driving, and that they suspected I had been drinking and driving. It was therefore in my interests to request a blood test, and they phoned Tauranga for a nurse or doctor to do the test. The nurse took about twenty to thirty minutes to arrive, it must have been about 3.00 pm by then, but I have the times recorded quite accurately, from my first 111 call to the blood tests. The result of the blood test wasn't known for a day or two, but the breath test showed I was about twice the legal limit, after drinking three large glasses, (over a bottle) of red wine of about 13%, so I was arrested for drunk driving, and my drivers licence confiscated for 28 days.

Then they informed me they were taking statements from various people regarding a complaint of indecent assault on two children under the age of 12. They didn't want me to meet or see these people, but it turns out Savannah Rae, the daughter of Niven Rae was the complainant, and her brother also a witness who corroborated her witness statement. Also there were children there who were making statements. As a result I was charged with indecent assault on two children under the age of 12, and I made a video statement saying I didn't touch anybody, I left when asked to, and I certainly didn't sit on the ground. My lawyer David Bates has seen the statements, but I can't recall exactly what I said, and he  certainly wasn't present when I made the statement. I'm sure I would have mentioned the reason for my 111 emergency call, the assault against my person and my car. Then I was told I would appear in court the next day, Friday, and I was driven home by one of the policemen. It was by then about 6.00 pm.

Next morning at about 9.00 am I was in the Tauranga Court where I met David Bates, a lawyer. He filled out my application for legal aid, and then I waited to be heard in court. It wasn't a court room as we know them, just a large windowless cupboard, with a desk or a couple of desks in it. At one end opposite the door was the Judge, and to her left sat the police and other prosecution figures. On her right was my lawyer, and I sat next to him. The first thing was to enter a plea, which I think I did through my lawyer. I was still in quite a considerable amount of shock from the events of the previous day and what was happening. I do remember that teh police wanted to impose a cerfew, but I protested, saying there would be no need for that because the bail conditions included one which said I was not to associate with children without their parents being present. The Judge agreed, and I was remanded on bail to appear again on the 2nd of December to face the charges.

I'd phoned my sister in Australia, and she was keen to come over, although I saw it as an unnessary expense, however she thought it best, and it was very helpful as it turned out, as the whole thing was extremely traumatic, even though I was innocent.

Over the next few days I didn't get a lot of sleep. Some idiot who lives nearby decided to drive their truck into my letterbox. They snapped off the concrete post it was sitting on. Then there was an appointment in Tauranga to meet the lawyer who was going to defend me on the drink driving charges. David was going to handle it but he was busy in the Rotorua High Court defending somebody who was facing a murder charge I think. The barrister had to appear in court and ask for an adjournment. I should have gone to the doctor and had the side of my face and my jaw checked out, but it was only a bit tender, with a pea sized lump right under my cheek bone. I was lucky it wasn't worse, but my neck was a bit sore as well. It was as well that I'm quite tough or I would have been knocked out by it. It was difficult for me to get to Tauranga without a driver's licence, and I had to go to the optician and get a new pair of glasses, and to the dentist. Once I had to go to Tauranga before my sister arrived, and caught the bus at 10 am. The return bus came as far as Te Puke, but there wasn't another one for about three hours, so I had to hitch-hike out to Maketu. I'd asked a neighbour if he could give me a lift, but it was difficult with so many Mongrel Mob connections in the town, and anybody seen associating with me was being threatened with physical violence. My letterbox was knocked over again, and one night a car came right up my drive and drove through a closed gate, wrecking it. It was a hassle making a complaint to the police because everything had to be done over the phone because of a change in procedure meaning there wasn't a way for the local police to stay informed, or so it seemed. There was no way for me to get to church. I could get a lift in, but not the return trip, and there was no bus. I did it a couple of times. Once my cousin and her husband came down from Auckland and they met me at church and came home and we talked about what I should do. I was sleeping with the lights on in the house at night. To get to the Art Society on Thursday, I had to catch the bus at 10.10, and the return one at 2.45, with all my groceries for the week and my art equipment, but it was important for me to see the people I knew well.

My sister arrived from Australia. She hired a car in Auckland and visited a friend for a day or two before coming down. It was a costly exercise for her, but it helped a lot. We went to the optician and to the dentist, and also consulted Baywide community law about another legal problem I had with Guardian Trust. Jenny could only stay a couple of weeks because she was in the middle of exams. It was a very emotional event to see her go again, because I was still very fragile emotionally.

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