escalating violence in our community Become a member of the Sensible Sentencing Trust

Mouseover links for full page descriptions

Offender Databases Tipene Maniapoto

Tipene Denis Maniapoto

Alias

.

Offences

Armed robbery of a Napier dairy with a gun in August 2006

Victims

.

Offender Affiliations

Zach Furniss
Jason King

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1989

Current Location

Unknown

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to just two years in December 2006
Home detention approved February 2007

Background
NZ Lawyer 21st December 2006

A teenage dairy robber and his getaway driver have been sent to jail after sneaking out of their Hawke's Bay homes just hours after signing bail papers enforcing a night-time curfew. Zach James Furniss, 16, and 17-year-old Jason Gregory King were arrested at their homes yesterday morning and taken in handcuffs to appear before Judge Richard Watson in Napier District Court, after being caught cruising the streets of Napier with a friend late on Monday night. The two had been sentenced by Judge Tony Adeane that afternoon for their roles in the aggravated robbery of a dairy near Furniss' home in August.

Furniss was sentenced to two years in jail, and King, who drove the getaway car, received 15 months. Tipene Denis Maniapoto, 17, who burst into the dairy with Furniss, masked, screaming and brandishing a replica pistol, was also sentenced to two years' jail. All three were given two months on bail to apply for home detention. Their bail terms included a curfew between 7pm and 7am. Furniss and King lost that freedom yesterday afternoon, when Judge Watson revoked their bail and ordered them to jail immediately. The robbery was a serious offence, he said, and the fact there had been strong opposition to their sentences "should have brought home to them the precariousness of their situation".

The pair will still be able to apply for home detention, though a probation officer indicated in court yesterday that reports for the Parole Board were unlikely to be prepared before February. Furniss also pleaded guilty yesterday to a charge of damaging a police cell. The deferred sentences handed down to the three on Monday were the final straw for the terrified woman they held up at gunpoint on August 18. Dairy owner Lou Hay, still suffering panic attacks and general nervousness, believed all three had been given a soft ride by the justice system because they came from good homes and were talented high-fliers who had never been in trouble before. Yesterday, she was pleased to hear that Furniss and King would not be home for Christmas. "I couldn't be more ecstatic.

Justice has finally been done," she said. Furniss' father, Glenn, had earlier defended a four-week trip to Brazil with Zach barely a month after the robbery, which included several days at a Christian surfers' conference.. He said Zach had benefited immensely from the conference, which gave him the opportunity to rub shoulders with young Christian surfers involved in community and charitable work. It had helped him make some "good decisions" since his return. Mr Furniss had not yet decided whether to apply for home detention for Zach. "Each family will have to apply if they think it's beneficial, and that's debatable. I want the right sentence for him, not a light one. They deserve to be punished." All three boys had recognised the seriousness and "mindless stupidity" of their actions, he said.

---

Corrections and Additional Information
We endeavour to make this database as accurate as possible, but we are at the mercy of whatever information we can find in various online and offline archives. We rely on the public - that is, people like you - to fill in the gaps that we cannot. If you wish to submit additional information or a correction to this file CLICK HERE . Privacy: Trust policy is that all sources are treated as strictly confidential unless we are explicitly told otherwise. If you wish to see a file removed from this database certain conditions must be met by the offender set out HERE Note that this does NOT apply for those that are the primary offender in a murder, rape, or any sexual offending involving minors. We do not enter into correspondence regarding the guilt/innocence of offenders. Such correspondence is not responded to, especially if the offender concerned has a number of prior convictions

Back to Top