Nunchakus attacker did it ‘for food’
21 September 2005
By SHERYL BROWN
A man who beat a middle-aged couple after invading their home, and who later racially taunted police, pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and aggravated assault when he appeared in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday. The court was told Andrew Phillips, 19, disturbed a sleeping couple in their home in Cloverlea Road, Palmerston North, hitting them both around the head with home-made nunchakus, a martial-arts weapon.
Phillips, unemployed, broke into the house through a sliding door about 3am on August 23. He made his way to the master bedroom, where the husband and wife - both in their 50s - were sleeping. Police said the woman was woken by torch light and saw Phillips standing a metre from the bed. She whispered to her husband, who leapt out of bed. Phillips then hit the man around the head and face. He struck the woman around the eye when she came to her husband’s aid.
It is not known if she was hit with a fist or the nunchakus. Police said her husband struggled with Phillips while she called police. She then sat on Phillips’ legs to restrain him until police arrived.
Phillips told the couple he only wanted money to feed his family, then said, “I know where you live and I’m going to come back and kill you.” He continued to struggle when police arrived, spitting on one of the officers. At the station he made racial taunts at Maori police staff.
Phillips faces further drug and receiving charges, but has yet to plead to those. He will return to court for sentencing on the burglary and assault charges on October 2.
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