A prison guard was assaulted and bruised after two Otago inmates attacked him in a cage corridor, a court has heard.
Sonny Clarke, 34, was given an additional four months' jail term when he appeared in Dunedin District Court yesterday, while his co-defendant Alistair John McFarlane was given three months.
Both pleaded guilty to assaulting a prison guard, a charge that carries a maximum prison sentence of six months.
The incident, which occurred on June 9, was one of a series of violent incidents at the Otago Corrections Facility this year, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell commented on the incident.
“There is no excuse for these unprovoked and cowardly attacks, and the prison service is ensuring that perpetrators are held to account,” he said last month.
While sources the Otago Daily Times There has been recent violence by the Crips gang, but court documents make no mention of any such connection.
Clarke was walking from his cell to the courtyard when he triggered a metal detector.
A guard told him it was probably the watch he was wearing and ordered him to take it off and go through the scanner again.
Instead, Clarke threw the watch on the ground and walked toward the garden, with the victim following him.
As they approached a 'cage corridor', the suspect struck the man several times on the head.
“No, that's a lie,” Clarke interrupted as the summary was read by Judge Jim Large.
However, he was reminded that he had pleaded guilty and therefore accepted the facts.
The prison officer punched Clarke in the face to stop the attack, but it attracted the attention of McFarlane, who punched the victim in the back of the head. His lawyer Sarah Saunderson-Warner said he had “misinterpreted” what he had seen happen.
The court heard both men had already suffered serious consequences as a result of their violence, having both spent two months in solitary confinement.
Both were transferred to the maximum security prison and taken north to Paremoremo, hundreds of miles away from friends and family.
Access to rehabilitation programs for Clarke and McFarlane would now be restricted, which would directly impact their chances of early release, the court heard.
The victim of the attack was left with a bump on the back of his head, a bump on his temple and bruising around his eye, the report said.
Four inmates, all charged with assault with intent to harm, will appear in court next week over a riot in June.
— Rob Kidd, Court Reporter