Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
- A judge has told a man accused of stealing medical supplies from an Otago rescue helicopter that he was "talking nonsense"
- The supplies were taken in January when bad weather forced the crew to wait at Taieri Airfield
- The man had previously made a sovereign citizen speech in court and sacked his lawyer
A judge has told a man accused of stealing critical medical supplies from an Otago rescue helicopter that he was "talking nonsense" in court.
The 31-year-old, who had interim name suppression, appeared via video link at the Dunedin District Court on Thursday.
At his last court appearance, the man made a sovereign citizen speech after sacking his lawyer and opting to represent himself.
On Thursday he pointed at the camera and asked "Who is that person talking to?", to which Judge Deidre Orchard replied "you".
The man then repeatedly asked if there was anyone by the name of "you" in court, before the Judge put the man on mute, saying he was talking nonsense.
He appeared to continue speaking even though he could not be heard in court.
The Judge told the man he was "very silly" not to have legal representation, because he was not going to be able to defend himself effectively.
She noted that he had called himself a sovereign citizen, warning that route went "nowhere further than a brick wall" in court.
Court documents showed the man was accused of burglary at the Taieri Airport yard, Cash Converters, Dunedin's Torpedo 7, Off The Chain, 2 Degrees, and another Dunedin address between 1 January and 12 January.
He was accused of stealing items worth $809 from Rebel Sports Dunedin, taking a Queenstown Cleaners Ltd van, and taking a painting and decorator's van two days later.
The man was also alleged to have taken a cleaning company's van on New Year's Eve.
He was accused of resisting police and failing to supply identifying details on the day of his arrest.
The man was remanded in custody until his next court appearance in April.
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