‘Spree burglar’ who targeted gliding club jailed for almost four years

A “spree burglar” who brought a volunteer-run gliding club to its knees and raided farms around his home to fund a drug habit has been sentenced to almost four years in prison.

David Neho, of Awarua, in Northland, was sentenced in the Kaikohe District Court on 23 charges including burglary, receiving, theft, unlawfully taking motor vehicles, and possession of drug utensils.

But the crimes that drew nationwide attention were a series of break-ins at Kaikohe Gliding Club, leaving five gliders badly damaged and club members facing a repair bill of more than $250,000.

Members earlier told RNZ they took pride in running one of the most affordable and accessible gliding clubs in the country, and supported youth by hosting cadets from around the Far North.

However, in an effort to keep costs low, the club was uninsured, leaving members to carry the cost of the damage.

Judge Gordon Matenga told the court Neho, who was 28, broke into the club hangar at Kaikohe Aerodrome on three occasions between 22 and 27 March this year.

He took two Toyota RAV4s, which were used for towing the gliders, and a tractor, used for mowing the grass air strip.

In the process he caused major damage to all five gliders stored in the hangar.

He then tried to sell the RAV4s to a car parts company.

Neho was also sentenced for petrol drive-offs in Whangārei and Moerewa, receiving a stolen Volvo he said he had bought for $50, stealing quad bikes, diesel and farm equipment from properties around Awarua, and using a ute to rip a forest gate off its hinges so he could go hunting.

He also stole a truck loaded with specialist drilling equipment imported from the US at a cost of $40,000.

The drilling equipment was recovered by Kaikohe police, as were the gliding club’s vehicles and tractor.

Judge Matenga described Neho as a “spree burglar”, who had committed a large number of offences in the first few months of this year, but had few previous convictions and none for drugs or burglary.

“By way of explanation, you told police you were doing all of this because you were feeding a habit and you sold most of the stuff you stole or swapped it for other things.”

Neho’s lawyer said he had started taking methamphetamine at work after two close relatives died on one day.

That caused him to lose his job, so he took more meth and then lost his partner.

Judge Matenga discounted Neho’s sentence for his very early guilty plea – in his view “the best evidence of remorse” – and for helping police find some of the stolen property.

That led to a sentence of three years and 11 months.

“Your offending has significantly affected everyone. I think you understand that now, now that you are clean and clear of drugs and can look back at what you have done,” Judge Matenga said.

The victims sought reparations of just under $245,000, which Neho said he was willing to pay, but the judge said there was no way he could afford it.

Once he was out of jail and had a job he could make voluntary payments, or he could be pursued through the civil court.

The sentencing took place on 27 July.

Kaikohe Gliding Club secretary Keith Falla welcomed the sentence, saying it was a little longer than he had expected.

“I thought the six-plus-years starting point was good. And the discount for pleading guilty made sense, though the discounts they give for miscellaneous reasons are too big. But, personally, I think four years is quite reasonable. It’s about right.”

Falla said the club was slowly getting back on its feet, with one single-seater repaired and back in the air, and another awaiting sign-off by an aviation engineer.

“So that’s two single seaters just about ready, and we bought an old two-seater trainer aircraft to replace one of the destroyed ones.”

The club was applying for funding for a second training aircraft, he said.

“A lot of people put in a lot of work and we’ve had some great support from within the aviation industry to get us back on our feet again. So we’re very pleased with how we’re recovering, and really grateful for all the help and general moral support we’ve received.”

It was possible the club’s two original training aircraft could be repaired at some point, but that would require finding replacement parts that were no longer produced.

The club started a Givealittle appeal after the break-ins were discovered but soon put a stop to it.

“We thought it wasn’t appropriate for a sports organisation. We felt that’s more for individuals in trouble,” he said.

“Also, we thought it would be a bit cheeky asking people to support us like that, because it’s often people who can’t really afford it who put their hands in their pockets. So it was a moral thing. But there are other ways to raise money and more appropriate ways, we think, for a gliding club.”

Falla said the thing that set Kaikohe apart from other gliding clubs around the country was its affordability.

“There’s not a lot of money in Northland, but we want to make gliding available for anybody who wants to learn to fly. Everywhere else, it’s very expensive,” he said.

“So our main thing is that we keep it simple. Simple and cheap.”