A man who was part of a shoplifting ring targeting retailers around Whangārei ended up suffering a brain injury after his jaw was broken while in custody.

Henare Tito, 23, along with other accomplices, was arrested earlier this year for charges relating to theft and burglary involving more than $8000 of stolen products.

Tito faced nine charges of shoplifting and 12 charges of burglary relating to locations he had already been trespassed from.

When his bail was declined, he was remanded into custody at Northland Regional Corrections Facility for two months. During this time he was assaulted by another prisoner.

At his sentencing in the Whangārei District Court this week, his lawyer Casey Murray said prison was not a safe option for her client who was now requiring rehabilitation to deal with his injury.

“Prison is not the place for this young man. This series of thefts all started when he found out his close friend was killed and set him off in a careless attitude toward life,” Murray said.

“He went on a rampage but somewhere along the way he has woken up and realised, ‘this is not the life for me’.”

Police prosecutor Andrew Glendinning argued Tito’s spate of offending was nothing new and pushed for a sentence of imprisonment.

“This isn’t just a small spate of offending, he has a history and has continued over a reasonable period of time.

“The defendant was acting in numbers, there needs to be deterrence and denunciation for this offending that’s becoming endemic in society, [costing] 100s of thousands of dollars a year for retailers who are scratching to make a living,” Glendinning said.

Judge Greg Davis agreed with Glendinning’s views on the impact on retailers.

“People shoplifting has reached a particularly chronic state. The business community is entitled to protection from those who go on shopping sprees without taking their wallets,” Judge Davis said.

Tito was sentenced to seven months home detention and ordered to pay each business $150 reparation for his role in the theft spree.

Locations Tito and his accomplices stole from were Countdown Regent, Tikipunga and Pahia, Torpedo 7 and The Warehouse Whangārei.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.