A teenager celebrating his birthday stabbed a young university student moments after they had shared a vape.
The victim, who said later it felt like he had been “whipped by a piece of string”, did not immediately know how seriously wounded he was in the surprise attack, described as a “deliberate and brutal cheap shot”.
The 21-year-old required emergency surgery on a 10cm puncture wound in his stomach which narrowly missed internal organs, and left him recovering in hospital for six days.
In a victim impact statement, he said he was lucky to survive, and had not anticipated the night ending with a life-threatening injury.
He remained in disbelief it happened.
The attack in Nelson’s Buxton Carpark, just after midnight on December 7 last year, happened within hours of Chevy Manakau Ropiha turning 18.
Ropiha pleaded guilty in the Nelson District Court in January this year to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Today, he was sentenced to three years in prison and given a first warning under the three strikes law.
The victim said in his statement, read by Crown prosecutor Daniel Baxter, he had arrived in Nelson to work in an apple orchard over the summer. He was on holiday with family when he and friends went into town on the night of the incident.
The attack had a significant impact on his sense of safety and confidence.
It also had a big impact on his friends who saw what happened – the resulting injury left tissue protruding from the wound in his stomach.
The police summary of facts said Ropiha attacked the victim moments after they had shared a vape, after the victim had calmed an escalating situation before the pair had met.
Baxter said the incident was caught on CCTV and showed the stabbing did not happen immediately, but after the victim had stood and moved away, and while engaged with someone else.
He said Ropiha used the knife, already brandished, in an “unprovoked, deliberate cheap shot”.
“He was just out with friends and had the misfortune of coming into contact with him (Ropiha) that night,” Baxter told the court.
Ropiha and two associates were in an alleyway of the Buxton Carpark.
Baxter said Ropiha had been drinking most of the day to celebrate his birthday.
The victim and two others left a bar on Bridge St, walked a short distance to Buxton Carpark and then to an alleyway nearby as a short-cut to Collingwood St.
Ropiha and his mates saw the victim and his associates walking towards them.
He and the victim didn’t know each other, but for no apparent reason, Ropiha “took exception” to one of the victim’s associates and fronted up to them, the police summary of facts said.
Ropiha “demanded” a fight, but was refused.
After that failed, Ropiha yelled out, “I’ve got a knife”, but the victim managed to calm him down, sat down nearby and began to vape.
He shared it with Ropiha when he “asked for a puff”, police said.
The victim got up to leave through an alleyway with his friends, and while he was talking with them, Ropiha stepped forward and “plunged a knife” into the right side of his stomach before fleeing.
Baxter said the CCTV footage also showed Ropiha then changed his clothes in the carpark toilet block and asked someone to hide them.
He then went back into a club and changed clothes again, while the victim was treated by police and ambulance crews.
The police later found Ropiha’s clothing on the roof of the toilet block and four days later, the knife was found on the roof of a nearby restaurant.
Defence lawyer Michael Vesty acknowledged the impact on the victim and the “gratuitous” violence.
He said Ropiha, who was still “very young”, had already had plenty of time in custody and plenty to come to reflect on what had happened.
The victim said he had lost income he needed to support his studies this year, and had also lost out on a $400 ticket to a music festival he wasn’t able to attend, which could not be refunded.
He was grateful for support from ACC for medical expenses and Victim Support for following up.
Judge David Laurenson, KC, said a pre-sentence report noted Ropiha’s substance misuse heightened his use of violence.
He said an alcohol and drug report identified relevant factors, including the large amount of alcohol Ropiha drank that day.
Ropiha had wanted to attend restorative justice but for various reasons it had not gone ahead. However, he did apologise to the victim through this channel, Judge Laurenson said in setting a five-year starting point for prison.
Ropiha was awarded discounts for his guilty plea, and for his youth and rehabilitation prospects.
