Night of carnage detailed by police

Last updated 13:29 08/04/2010

A Christchurch man's night of carnage has been detailed by police after he admitted five charges of using a car as a weapon.

Cody Derek Martin, 23, was remanded in custody for sentence on May 7 after pleading guilty to 15 charges before Judge Stephen Erber in the Christchurch District Court today.

The website Christchurch Court News reported that Judge Erber has ordered a pre-sentence report and the police say they will be seeking reparations for damage to an ambulance and a police patrol car that were rammed, and for injury and trauma suffered by six victims of Martin's out-of-control night.

The Mairehau labourer has been in custody since his arrest on the night of March 13, facing 18 charges. Three charges of resisting the police were withdrawn today before he pleaded guilty to the rest.

He admitted two charges of threatening to kill, seven of assault with a weapon, five alleging he used a car in the assault - assault, breach of community detention, reckless driving, drink-driving, wilful damage, and failing to stop for a police car using its lights and siren.

Martin was serving a community detention sentence at his Hills Road home that night when he argued with a friend and punched him in the mouth causing cuts and loosening four teeth. The victim fled with his sister and niece to call the police and an ambulance.

Martin attacked his own BMW car with a crowbar, smashing panels, lights and windows, and then smashed palings on a neighbour's fence.

He became more upset when someone said he had hurt the assault victim's three-year-old niece. He held a knife to this person's throat until his ex-partner told him the victim and the girl would be fine and were being treated in an ambulance down the road.

Martin stabbed the knife into the dashboard of his car and then drove it out of his gate -and crashed it into the front of the ambulance, shunting it a metre. Three people were inside it at the time.

Martin drove off before the police arrived, but they got details and headed off in pursuit, spotting the vehicle nearby. Martin sped off when he saw the patrol car using its lights and siren about 5m away.

He weaved among vehicles along Marshland Road, accelerated to 140kmh, passed cars on the left, and put his arm out the window to give the finger sign to the police.

His car became airborne and fishtailed when it hit a raised driveway section along the road shoulder.
He lost control at a roundabout and struck the traffic island and the kerbing.

Along the road he reversed and tried to ram a polie car, but lost control as the police reversed at 70kmh. He repeated this with the same result.

A car had to brake and swerve to avoid a crash as he sped along Lower Styx Road.

When he tried to ram a police car in reverse he lost control again and crashed backwards into a fence.

When he did it again, a civilian car had come up behind the patrol car and they could not reverse. The police tried to pass and Martin clipped them with his car. Then Martin drove forward and crashed into back of the patrol car, shunting it forwards while the police jammed on the brakes and engaged a reverse gear.

Martin's car was shoved back 50m in the pushing match that followed. It ended when he fled on foot carrying a baseball bat.

He ran down an unlit country road but stopped and confronted the chasing police after 150m. As he advanced, the police hit him with two full canisters of pepper spray. It had no effect, and Martin told them:
"You stupid pigs, that shit doesn't affect me."

Martin was ready to swing the bat but a civilian car pulled up behind with large spotlights illuminating the area. Martin turned and ran, continually stopping to threaten the police with the bat, until he was cornered against a farm fence.

He threatened to take a pistol out of his belt to shoot the police, and had his hand behind him, but when a third officer arrived it was seen that he had no pistol in his hand. Two police approached him and struck him, and he dropped the bat.

He was dragged to the ground by the three officers and fought long and hard before he was cuffed and searched and no pistol was found.

He was found to have a breath-alcohol level of 755mcg of alcohol to a litre of breath.

The first assault victim had mouth injuries, and one ambulance officer received minor whiplash. Two police officers had minor whiplash from their patrol car being struck.

From: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/3560922/Night-of-carnage-detailed-by-police