Man who threatened mother remanded

A 36-year-old man who threatened his mother was today remanded into custody.

Tio Weeks got into an argument with his mother over his immigration status on Sunday evening.

In Magistrates’ Court today, Crown counsel Nicole Smith told the court Weeks went to his mother, Rosemary Weeks’, home at 8pm on Sunday evening and asked to speak with her privately in the kitchen.

During the conversation, Weeks became angry and started to bang his hands on the table.

His mother began to walk away from him slowly but he started to follow her.

Ms Weeks then called out to her boyfriend for assistance.

Weeks then said: “Call him, I’ll shoot him too. I have a gun" in the presence of his ten-year-old son.

Ms Weeks’ boyfriend then went outside to call the police as they both felt threatened by the defendant.

Weeks then took his son and said “You are all dead” before leaving the house.

The defendant was arrested later that evening and was put in a police car.

On the way to the police station, Weeks began to bang his head against the glass of the passenger window and said: “I’m gonna die tonight”.

He then lifted his feet and kicked out the glass window, causing more than $1,000 damage.

At the Hamilton Police Station, Weeks was seen putting wet toilet paper over the CCTV camera in the cell and was warned.

He was later seen tampering with the fire sprinkler system on the ceiling.

The custody officer saw dripping coming from the sprinkler and moved Weeks into another cell.

He was seen tampering with the sprinkler system in that cell.

When the officer came to the cell, he saw black oily liquid and water gushing from the cell.

The sprinkler completely flooded the entire jail area and all the detainees had to be evacuated.

The total cost of the damage was $6,820.

Weeks apologised for his actions and then claimed he hasn’t received any assistance from the Court Service Department.

“I said things out of frustration, yes I did.

“I have been stuck on this island for 29 years. I wasn’t born here and I needed my mother’s assistance to get out of here.”

Weeks explained he was born in California but was raised here and has permission to work and reside.

He also said he doesn’t have a passport to leave.

He added: “I have been in and out of the courts for most of my adult life.

“I feel like I have been in a little ball.”

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner then began to go through Weeks long list of convictions, dating back to before 2000.

Mr Warner said: “You have been convicted in all areas of criminal activity - dishonesty, stealing, wounding people, violence, in particular on women, uttering threatening words, bladed article, threatening to kill people, breaching domestic violence orders, wounding another female."

Weeks then interrupted Mr Warner and said: “All that bulls**t is irrelevant. Why don’t you just send me up the road.

“All you lot do is just bring up my past. Just sentence me for today.

“Send me up there and I’ll just come out and do me.”

Mr Warner then questioned if Weeks wanted to be deported.

Pre-sentencing reports were ordered and Weeks was remanded into custody until May 23 when he will be sentenced. He admitted using threatening words and two counts of criminal damage.