A man who had earlier denied charges of performing an indecent act with a boy under 12 was back in the Ashburton District Court on a separate sexual offence charge dating back about eight years.

The Ashburton man faced a new charge of sexual violation between February 2015 and February 2016.

He appeared before Judge Tom Gilbert on Monday.

The man was granted interim name suppression and remanded without plea. He will appear again on November 13.

Community work sentence

After Clinton Willetts pulled out his own tooth, he self-medicated with alcohol.

It's a form of pain relief that he admits turns him into "the devil" - and that led to him spitting on a police officer and ending up in court.

Willetts, 52, pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting a police officer on September 12 after police withdrew a second charge of resisting arrest.

Lawyer Joanna Lorrigan-Innes said Willetts had an extensive criminal history. However, prior to this offending he had been sober for three years and doing well.

On the day of the offence he had a tooth the needed extraction - which he later pulled out himself - and had self-medicated with alcohol.

"He admits alcohol makes him 'the devil'".

She said Willetts was remorseful and wanted to apologise to the officer. However, restorative justice did not go ahead.

Judge Gilbert said Willetts spat in the face of a female police officer as she was putting on his seat belt after he was arrested.

"There was some blood in your mouth. It would have been an unpleasant experience for her," the judge said.

Willetts was given an 80-hour community work sentence.

Plea changed

An Ashburton man facing two charges of indecent assault dating back to August last year changed his pleas from not guilty to guilty.

Glen John Milne, 50, will appear before Judge Gilbert for sentencing in the Christchurch District Court on January 24.

Drink driver convicted

Speeding to be by his brother's side in hospital after having a few drinks has landed a man with his third drink driving conviction.

Netherby man Brian David Ross admitted drink driving on the Timaru-Temuka Highway on October 26. He blew 563 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath when stopped by police.

Judge Gilbert said Ross blew almost twice the legal limited and was clocked by police travelling at 132km/h while travelling to see his brother in hospital.

Ross was fined $650 plus $130 in court costs and disqualified from driving for one year and one day.

Interim suppression

A 19-year-old was granted interim name suppression and remanded without plea on a charge of threatening to kill.

Duty lawyer Gretchen Hart said the victim had come to the young man's home several times. The matter could have been dealt with by a requesting a trespass order, but the man was not aware of that option.

She asked Judge Gilbert to remand the man without plea to allow diversion to take place.

He will appear again on November 27.

Birthday celebration gone wrong

A night on the town for his birthday ended badly for Mana Terare Tuakoi.

The 27-year-old, who has recently relocated to Timaru, had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of assault and wilful damage on September 3.

He is also charged with breaching a community work sentence.

According to the summary of facts Tuakoi kicked at glass panes at the police station out of frustration while waiting for his brother to be released. He kicked out about six times, breaking two glass panes, and was briefly arrested.

After he was released by police Tuakoi punched a man in the face. The man had earlier denied Tuakoi entry to a bar because he was intoxicated.

Judge Gilbert said Tuakoi had been sentenced to 200 hours' community work for driving while suspended but had only completed 22 hours work.

The judge cancelled Tuakoi's previous sentence and sentenced him to six months community detention with a 7pm to 4.30am curfew.

He was ordered to pay $632 in reparation for the broken window panes.

Remanded without plea

An Ashburton man appeared briefly on charges of family violence and resisting police.

The 36-year-old was granted interim name suppression and remanded to November 27.

Indefinite disqualification

An application to have an interlock sentence revoked ended in an indefinite disqualification.

Allenton man Heremaia Te Kohu Marks, 25, wanted his interlock sentence cancelled because he no longer had a car.

His lawyer Cory Shaw said Marks' girlfriend drove the car to have an interlock device fitted, but the car was written off in an accident.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Stuart Whyte said Marks went under two different names and had a second drink driving conviction with a high alcohol level, which meant an indefinite disqualification applied.

He blew 1228mcg on January 17 and 1038mcg on June 11, he said.

Judge Gilbert cancelled the interlock sentence and disqualified Marks from driving for six months and also applied an indefinite disqualification.

The judge said that after eight months Marks could apply to the director of Waka Kotahi to remove the indefinite disqualification.

"You're not to drive until you've got permission from the director of Land Transport," the judge said.

Fine for assault

Pulling a rude hand gesture had serious consequences for an Ashburton taxi driver.

Hampstead man Viny Ryan Tait, 32, attacked a local taxi driver for pulling the finger on Burnett St on July 23.

Duty lawyer Gretchen Hart said Tait was sorry for his part of the actions. The victim and Tait has some history, but had not seen each other for years. Tait had consumed two beers and was walking to his car when he saw the victim gesticulating at him.

"He regrets he didn't make a better choice," Hart said.

Judge Gilbert said: "We expect adults not to punch people in the face if they pull the finger. You should be big enough to just walk on."

He fined Tait $200 plus court costs and ordered him to pay $200 in emotional harm reparation.

Community work sentence converted

A 55-year-old woman with a heart condition had her community work sentence cancelled.

Deborah Lee Anne Drummond had earlier been disqualified from driving on August 10 and sentenced to 200 hours’ community work after pleading guilty to a charge of careless driving causing death.

She applied to have her sentence reviewed because she wasn’t able to do the physical type of community work available in Ashburton due to a heart condition.

She told Judge Gilbert she was truly remorseful and wanted to be productive, but had been living off her savings since her sentence and was down to her last $14.

Judge Gilbert said he understood that Drummond didn’t want to be seen to be getting away without some consequence. She was resentenced to five months’ community detention with a 6pm to 6am curfew.

He told Drummond she could save about $2,000 in legal fees if she applied for a limited licence on her own without legal assistance.

Charges dropped

A man who lied to police had his drink driving charges dropped.

Dutch national, 18-year-old Richard Brouwer, faced a charge of drink driving on Cambridge Street on September 24.

However, Brouwer had lied to police about driving to save his friend - and later admitted he wasn't the driver.

“I told the police I was driving when I wasn’t and got myself into trouble," he told the judge.

Duty lawyer Gretchen Hart said the driver had since been charged and admitted drink driving.

She said Brouwer, who had to hand over his passport as a bail condition, had put his plans to return to study in Holland on hold.

The charges were withdrawn. However, Judge Gilbert said the police might now charge Brouwer for obstructing justice.

“We don’t expect people to lie to police in New Zealand."

Good behaviour bond

Assault charges were dropped in a case with a complicated family background after a good behaviour bond was signed.

Sophie Rose Moore, 24, was initially faced two family violence charges, one of which was amended to common assault.

Moore got into an argument with her sister over a vehicle and trailer. Her sister is alleged to have taken them from her parents without paying.

Moore admitted slapping her sister's hand when she thrust a phone in her face to take a video, but denied hitting her niece.

Sergeant Whyte said there were a lot of mitigating circumstances and a low level of assault. He agreed to withdraw the charges if Moore provided a bond.

The charges were withdrawn and Judge Gilbert imposed a $1000 good behaviour bond.

Not guilty pleas

A 30-year-old man has denied unlawfully possessing more than 200 rounds of ammunition.

Samuel Alexander Bennett pleaded not guilty to a total of seven charges, including receiving stolen items.

He will appear again on December 11.

Sentence upheld

Judge Gilbert declined to a impose a fine instead of a community work sentence.

Patrick William Tuira, 35, appeared on a charge of breaching a community work sentence. The court was told he had not done any community work in two years.

His lawyer Joanna Lorrigan-Innes said Tuira worked on a dairy farm and was not able to complete community work. She asked the judge to impose a fine instead.

However, Judge Gilbert was not satisfied when Tuira said he could pay the fine at $10 a week.

"I understand it is inconvenient for you – but that is the whole purpose of the sentence.

"I’m not prepared to fine you. $10 isn't adequate. I could sentence you to a few days in prison to just get it over with if you prefer," the judge said.

Tuira was remanded to February 19 to complete his community work.

"If you come to court having finished your community work then you will be convicted and discharged on this – otherwise you will face an alternative sentence, which could include some time in prison."

Raft of charges

Nicholas James Boulden, 36, appeared via audio visual link from prison on a raft of charges.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges, including four charges of wilful damage, two charges of family violence, and one of threatening behaviour, not complying with parole conditions, and the unlawful possession of a non-prohibited firearm.

He will appear again on November 13 for a bail hearing.

By Sharon Davis