Taataau Dominic Te Whata faces Coffs Harbour court after threat to kill neighbour, Coles food grab
A young homeless man who tried to take food from a Coffs Harbour supermarket has faced court. But it was what he told police about a neighbour that led to more serious trouble.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Coffs Harbour man who twice told police he wanted to kill a neighbour has learned his fate in court.
Taataau Dominic Te Whata, 26, was in custody and sat with his dreadlocked head down as he pleaded guilty to a raft of charges at Coffs Harbour Local Court on Wednesday.
He faced two counts of hinder or resist police officer in the execution of duty and one count each of larceny, stalk and intimidate intending to cause fear of physical or mental harm and contravene prohibition/restriction in apprehended violence order (AVO).
Te Whata and his partner had a loud argument on the night of October 23, prompting a Duke St neighbour to call police, court documents state.
“I’m gonna kill that c**t,” Te Whata twice told officers investigating the complaint, according to police facts.
This was overheard by the neighbour, causing him to be fearful.
Te Whata and the neighbour had been known to one another for some months.
Te Whata intimidated the victim by following and verbally abusing him, and knocking “aggressively” on the man’s door, facts state.
An AVO was in play at the time, with the neighbour being the protected person.
Court documents state Te Whata also took food from Coles Coffs Harbour – to the value of $27 – only to throw the items back at supermarket staff as he was challenged and moved to leave the store on November 12.
On November 22, police spotted Te Whata – who had failed to report as per his bail conditions – in Gordon St.
He was “well intoxicated” and “argumentative” while in handcuffs, facts state.
Te Whata resisted officers by pulling his arms and “thrashing” about before being taken to the ground.
The court heard Te Whata had a very limited criminal history.
Defence lawyer Johnathon Paff said his client previously worked as a floor tiler and carpenter, grew up in the Dubbo area and had experienced homelessness.
Magistrate Julia Virgo noted the threats to the victim had not been made directly, but were overheard, though Te Whata was “reckless in making those comments”.
On the charges of stalk or intimidate and breaching an AVO, Te Whata was convicted and sentenced to a 12-month community correction order.
On the two counts of hinder police, he was sentenced to a six-month community release order without proceeding to conviction.
Ms Virgo noted Te Whata was homeless at the time of the larceny charge and she convicted him of the offence with no further penalty.
‘Robocop’ walks free as assault charge dropped
An ex-Coffs police officer dubbed ‘robocop’ for his sheer size – who previously had several assault charges dropped – is still bulletproof after having fresh allegations dismissed in court.
Teen arrested at luxury estate as another escapes cops
Two boys have been charged and another person is on the loose after police made a pair of arrests, including one in a luxury residential community, over alleged property crime on the state’s Mid-North Coast.