What began as a hair-pulling incident in a nightclub ended with two men out for revenge and “beating the snot out of someone” defenceless on the ground.
The teen cousins, one about to become a dad, will now bear the burden of a conviction for serious violence after an eight-minute assault on a man at a McDonald’s restaurant three days after last Christmas.
Hunter Butler, who was 18 at the time, sought a discharge without conviction for assault with intent to injure, to prevent harm to what was described in court as his bright future.
However, the application was declined and he was sentenced in the Nelson District Court on Tuesday to community detention and supervision.
Judge Tony Snell found the consequences of a conviction were not out of proportion to the gravity of the offending.
However, he was convinced that had the young men been sober they would have walked away.
“If you hadn’t been drunk, you wouldn’t have done this. The two of you, somehow, have backed each other up.
“It’s something I’m sure you will regret,” Judge Snell said.
Butler’s cousin and co-offender, Yozarn Peeni, who was also 18 at the time, was earlier sentenced to 100 hours’ community work, four months of community detention and a year’s supervision on two charges of assault with intent to injure.
He was also ordered to pay reparation for his part in the events early on December 28, 2025.
Butler and Peeni had been at a central Nelson bar at the same time as the man they attacked, who was with a friend.
Butler later told police the victim had bumped into his partner in town, he got between them, the victim pushed him, so he pushed him back and the victim then grabbed his partner by the hair.
The police summary of facts said the group was separated and ordered out of the bar, then about 2am made their way separately to McDonald’s.
After a brief exchange, Peeni grabbed the victim’s neck with two hands and pushed him backwards.
The victim, who was making a “choking noise”, tried pushing him away but couldn’t until he punched and kneed Peeni, causing him to let go.
The victim backed off but Peeni followed, verbally goading him into a fight before security intervened.
The victim’s friend tried to calm the situation but was grabbed and threatened.
Eight-minute beating
Peeni then threw a punch at the victim, beginning an eight-minute beating security was unable to stop, police said.
Butler kicked the victim eight times while he was on the ground and unable to defend himself. The onslaught stopped when the victim’s friend pulled him away.
Butler walked away briefly but returned and punched the victim twice in the head while he was defenceless on the ground, police said.
As Peeni and Butler stood over him, Butler punched the victim in the head again while Peeni attacked the victim’s head and face.
Security was finally able to break up the fight. Police said the victim’s injuries were such that he was unable to provide basic details of what happened and could not walk without assistance.
He was later found to have concussion, a broken nose, swollen head and face, cuts and abrasions to his elbow and knee and general soreness to his head and body.
‘Two men out for revenge’
Judge Snell disagreed with Butler’s claim in a pre-sentence report he did not think alcohol had played a part in his offending.
He said what triggered the events might have made him angry but did not justify the violence. Butler’s claim he was “acting in self defence” for his cousin did not tally with what occurred.
“It was two men out for revenge, beating the snot out of someone when they could, especially someone defenceless on the ground,” Judge Snell said.
He noted the victim’s fear that he might die.
Butler’s defence lawyer Jackie Van Schalkwyk said, supporting her submissions for a discharge, it had been an eye-opening experience for her client, particularly as he and his partner were expecting their first child.
Police prosecutor Rebecca Terry said the application was opposed due to the sustained nature of the serious assault.
She said aggravating factors included the level of violence leading to the level of injury and multiple attacks on a vulnerable victim unable to defend himself.
Terry said the victim had also suffered significant trauma from the assault.
Young men ‘acting on impulse’
Judge Snell said, in sentencing Butler, the consequences were much the same for “almost all young men” his age with limited frontal brain cortex development who acted impulsively and lacked ability to think about consequences.
Judge Snell said Butler had excellent support from his employer and ambitions to progress through the ranks at work, or one day start his own business.
He said the effects of a conviction on those ambitions and future travel were speculative.
Butler avoided home detention, which would have harmed his ability to remain working, and was sentenced to four months’ community detention, including a night-time curfew, plus nine months’ supervision.
He was also ordered to pay $750 emotional harm reparation to the victim.
“If I see you again I hope it’s out in the street with you living your best life. I never want to see you back here again,” Judge Snell told Butler.
