Dairy Owner Assaulted Over Unpaid Cigarettes

A routine trip to buy cigarettes turned violent last November when 26-year-old Gabrielle Howard assaulted dairy owner Suathi Lam at the Beverley Store south of Richmond. The incident occurred after Howard attempted to leave the store without paying for a packet of cigarettes, prompting Lam to intervene.

Lam, who has owned the store with her husband for 14 years, recalled confronting Howard after his card was declined. “I told him, ‘Your card was declined, can I have my smokes back please’, but it seemed he didn’t want to hear,” she said, The New Zealand Herald reported.

When she grabbed his jacket to retrieve the cigarettes, Howard threw her to the ground, pushed her head into gravel, and kneed her in the stomach. Lam suffered a bruised face and a large graze on her elbow and required medical treatment for her injuries. A passerby and a truck driver came to her aid.

Howard was subsequently charged with theft under $500, common assault, shoplifting, assault on a person in a family relationship, and failing to answer police bail. It was reported that he was experiencing a drug-induced psychosis at the time of the offence, with behaviour described as out of character, reported The New Zealand Herald.

According to The New Zealand Herald, on Tuesday, in Nelson District Court, Judge Jo Rielly sentenced Howard to two months’ community detention and 12 months’ supervision, acknowledging the role of his diagnosed mental health condition while emphasising that it did not excuse the criminal behaviour. “This is not a situation where mental health issues... might absolve you from criminal behaviour, but it explains your behaviour,” the judge noted.

Lam described the assault as the worst experience in her years running the bright red store. Despite knowing Howard and his family personally, she felt compelled to act to prevent a similar incident in the future. “You have to tell them, ‘Can I have my smokes back,’ because letting them go so easily is not a good idea,” she said, as quoted by The New Zealand Herald.

The incident highlighted the challenges faced by small business owners dealing with theft and violent confrontations, as well as the broader importance of addressing mental health issues in conjunction with public safety.