Rotorua bomb squad call: Charles Rameka gets 21 months in prison

Judge Hollister-Jones said Rameka was driving a V8 on the wrong side of Ford Rd on the morning of February 25 this year.

At the intersection with Sunset Rd, he suffered a 360-degree burnout, with his vehicle veering into the opposite lane and hitting a speed bump.

He repeated this three times.

That evening, Rameka arrived at the intersection in another car, a Honda, and left it in the middle of the intersection, Judge Hollister-Jones said.

The words “bring that kid f**k yo” were spray-painted on the rear window of the vehicle.

He tied a school bag to the rear window wiper and attached a flashing red light to the roof before taking off.

Police arrived shortly afterwards and noticed what appeared to be a grenade in a can of baby food wedged between the steering wheel and dashboard.

This resulted in cordons being established and local residents being evacuated, Judge Hollister-Jones said.

At 11:15 p.m., Rameka approached the cordon in another vehicle and was unable to stop for police.

He became angry and shouted at the police: “I’m the one who planted the bomb.” Then he said, “Do you know what this is?” while brandishing what appeared to be a detonator.

Police arrested him at another cordon using OC spray. Brass knuckles were found in the car.

Judge Hollister-Jones said the bomb squad searched the vehicle at the intersection of Ford and Sunset Rds and found a smoke grenade.

Rameka’s relevant convictions include aggravated robbery in 2019, ten convictions for violent offences, two for persistent loss of traction and one for dangerous driving. He was sentenced to six years in prison in 2019, during which time he stopped using methamphetamine and underwent a drug rehabilitation program.

“After you left prison, you got back in touch with antisocial friends… Once you got out, you had a hard time. You had a job, but it didn’t work out and you relapsed.”

He noted a pre-sentence report that said Rameka had become paranoid about what people thought and said about him.

The judge said it was clear that Rameka’s “strategy” was to “cause serious alarm and fear”.

“This was the result of a meth bender you were using.”

He was sentenced to 21 months in prison on charges of threatening to harm people and property, but was allowed to serve the sentence at a drug rehabilitation center if one became available. His application for house arrest was rejected because the address he provided was not suitable.

On the related charge of possession of an explosive, he was sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment. He was sentenced to a further 12 months in prison for possession of brass knuckles and two months in prison for dangerous driving. The latter had his driver’s license suspended for six months. For the three continuing losses of traction charges, his driver’s license was disqualified for 18 months, to be served cumulatively. Because he didn’t stop, he was convicted and fired.

He will be placed on probation for six months after his release.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, mainly covering police, courts, human interest and social issues.