“That information includes the influence of [her] at the time, who clearly got involved in the drug dealing,” Judge Andy Nicholls said.
“There is reference to her ongoing influence at the time on your behaviour.”
According to the summary of facts, Havill arranged for the importation of MDMA, cocaine and ketamine, concealed inside 48 packages containing nuts and British confectionery.
The packages, which were imported between February 2023 and December 2024, were sent to several addresses in Paekākāriki and Pauatahanui, north of Wellington.
Initially, they were mailed to “Jamie Ferguson” or a slight variation of that name, before switching to “D Hamil” for the later imports.
A police search of Havill’s three cellphones showed he had regular contact with associates and supplied them with drugs.
Police say it’s unclear how many times Havill met with his customers, although it’s likely these offers later became actual supplies.
The summary says the drugs netted nearly $200,000, with the bulk of the funds being deposited into international cryptocurrency exchanges to buy more drugs.
A hard, highly unusual childhood
While the summary of facts didn’t mention the woman, at sentencing, Judge Nicholls noted, “there’s enough references in the material to make me uneasy about ignoring the topic”.
He also referred to Havill’s background, although he suppressed the details, telling Havill it was clear “that you had a hard, highly unusual childhood, not of your choosing”.
And finally, there was also the offer of a $10,000 payment, which the judge accepted was also unusual.
Judge Nicholls said he understood this could be seen as a way of buying a sentencing outcome, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, it was Havill’s way of disgorging the profits from his offending.
Prison or home detention?
But the question for Judge Nicholls was whether he should send Havill to jail, or accept Surridge’s submission and impose a non-custodial sentence, so Havill, who is now drug-free, could follow his dreams of becoming a social worker or a paramedic.
But for that to happen, the judge had to reduce the earlier indication of seven and a half years for the MDMA offending, with a two-year uplift for the other drug offending.
Crown prosecutor Islay Aitchison said she wouldn’t go so far as to say Havill shouldn’t go to prison, but acknowledged there was a significant amount of personal material before the court.
Ultimately, the judge decided not to jail the now 27-year-old.
After reducing the starting point and applying discounts for the guilty plea, Havill’s age, background and previous good character, as well as the offer of $10,000, Havill received an end sentence of 24 months’ jail, which the judge converted to home detention.
On charges of importing cocaine, MDMA and ketamine; supplying MDMA; offering to supply MDMA and cocaine; possessing and selling ketamine; and engaging in money laundering, the judge ordered Havill to serve 12 months’ home detention. He also ordered the forfeiture of the $10,000.
After passing sentence, the judge wished Havill good luck, while Havill’s grandmother, mother and sister cried in the public gallery.
Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.