A 21-year-old man who sliced off his neighbour’s ear lobe and broke an arm with a machete in a petty fight will serve home detention after a judge found him too young to go to jail.
Jaden Minhinnick was in an argument over driveway space with his Hamilton neighbour when he took out a machete from his car and swung it at the victim, slicing off one earlobe.
The victim, who had first begun waving broken glass bottles, dropped to the ground and Minhinnick swooped down with another swing of the machete. The the victim tried block the weapon with his arm, sustaining injuries in the process.
The attacker’s lawyer argued his client was remorseful of what happened, while the crown prosecutor pointed out that while there might be remorse, Minhinnick hadn’t shown insight into his actions.
But Judge Mabey at Hamilton District Court said prison was only issued as a last resort, and while the victim impact was extreme, a key sentencing principle was rehabilitation.
“When it comes to young people... they are more amenable, malleable to rehabilitation and imprisonment could have a more damaging effect. I can’t justify imprisoning this man.”
He expected the public would want him to jail Minhinnick, especially if they saw the photos-which he didn’t release to the media-and if he was 10 years older he would have.
Judge Mabey also ruled out a secondary sentence of community work, given the possibility the attacker might end up “rubbing shoulders with the wrong people”. Instead, he sentenced Minhinnick to 10 months’ home detention with nine months’ post-release conditions.
