The offenders appeared in the Hamilton District Court last week for sentencing, with Emery facing jail time on a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and Watene-Kumeroa hoping to serve home detention.
In his victim impact statement, the teen said he now experienced “unpleasant” sensations when extending his leg, making it feel as if something was “separating”.
“It’s frustrating this has happened to me. This has prevented me from carrying out normal daily activities.”
The costs of his injuries had so far been covered by ACC, and he had support from his community, but he was still left wondering how the injury would affect him in future.
Victim tripped and fell before he was attacked
The court heard that the victim went to his friend’s party about 11pm on October 31 last year.
By that time, roughly 250 people were already there, and the host’s mother was shutting the party down.
As the victim was leaving, he tripped over someone’s leg and fell. Emery, armed with a machete, then swung it into his leg three times in quick succession.
Footage of the attack showed Watene-Kumeroa stomping on the victim’s head and chest as the machete blows rained down.
The videos were then posted on social media. When someone asked Emery why he had “stabbed” someone, he replied, “I felt like it.”
He doesn’t warrant further discounts – Crown
At the hearing, Crown solicitor James Lewis pointed to a psychiatrist’s report that said Emery presented “with a psychotic disorder that is not otherwise specified”.
“It appears that, while this is present, it does not appear to be a driver of the offending or something from which the defendant can base a submission of reduced culpability,” Lewis put to the judge.
He said there was nothing that warranted the judge going beyond the 40% discount cap on the basis that applying it would be manifestly unjust.
Kawariki Emery was jailed, while Hayze Watene-Kumeroa was given a home detention sentence in the Hamilton District Court on Friday. Photo / Belinda Feek
In June last year, the Government capped the discount given to offenders for personal mitigating features at 40% unless a judge deemed it “manifestly unjust”.
“You are not an expert in psychotic diagnoses,” the judge replied.
Lewis agreed, but maintained his position.
As for Watene-Kumeroa, Lewis said his attacks constituted extreme violence as they occurred without provocation, and he targeted the head and chest area.
‘I wish I had walked away’
Emery’s counsel, Mark Fyers, began by outlining his client’s remorse and how out of character the attack had been.
In a letter read to the court by Fyers, Emery said he did not expect his apology to undo any of the harm he had caused, but he thought of what happened that night “constantly”.
“I carry this with me every day. I’m not trying to shift blame or minimise what happened.
“More than anything, I wish I had walked away.”
Fyers agreed Emery had a supportive upbringing, but had been affected by the loss of both his parents, along with his grandmother.
The psychiatrist found that, while Emery was not acutely unwell at the time, he was suffering “some psychological symptoms”, which he felt had contributed to the attack.
Fyers said a 15% discount should be allowed for that, along with discounts for his guilty plea, remorse and time on electronically monitored (EM) bail. He submitted that the total discounts could reach 65%.
While that exceeded the cap, he said, “it does not need to be a rare case for there to be manifest injustice”.
“He’ll be in his mid-20s before he gets to his actual release date,” Fyers said.
“He’s looking at a serious term of imprisonment, and that’s crushing for any young person, especially someone who has never experienced prison before.
“He’s a young person and has never been in this position before.
“It would be manifestly unjust to cap the discount at 40%.”
‘A young man who has a lot of potential’
Norman Te Kanawa-Gwynne, for Watene-Kumeroa, disputed that his client’s violence was extreme, stating it was neither prolonged nor gratuitous.
His client, who was 18 at the time of the attack, had no idea a machete would be used, and it was well known that young men’s brains did not fully develop until the age of about 26.
He pushed for a total of 60% in discounts and added that his client had been on EM bail for 143 days and spent 40 days in custody.
“This is youthful offending, and he is in the throes of recognising that,” Te Kanawa-Gwynne said.
“He’s actually a young man who has a lot of potential.
“He is someone who has been under the watchful, but disappointed, eye of many members of his family.”
Context for his actions
For Emery, Judge Marshall adopted a starting point of eight years’ imprisonment and allowed a 25% discount for his guilty plea and 15% for youth.
He agreed that it would be manifestly unjust not to allow a further discount, noting that Emery had presented to mental health staff in November 2024 and been treated for psychosis.
Given the psychiatrist’s report stating that his psychosis was likely in partial remission at the time of the attack, leaving “residual symptoms”, Judge Marshall said that gave some context as to why he acted in the way he did.
“However, it does not excuse your actions by any means.”
He allowed total discounts of 50%, plus a further two months’ credit for time spent on EM bail, and sentenced Emery to three years and 10 months’ imprisonment.
The judge also issued him a first strike warning.
Watene-Kumeroa was also sentenced on charges of dangerous driving, failing to stop, and possession of a screwdriver capable of vehicle conversion relating to a police pursuit before the party, for which he was on bail at the time of the attack.
Judge Marshall adopted a three-year starting point for the charge of wounding with intent to injure before adding 12 months for the driving incident, which he said had put members of the public at risk.
He then allowed 50% in discounts, also agreeing that it would be manifestly unjust not to do so, and got down to two years.
The judge then took two months off for time spent on EM bail before converting it to 10 months’ home detention.
He disqualified Watene-Kumeroa from driving for 15 months.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.