A Wellington man known as the 'Miramar tyre slasher' has been sentenced to 22 months in prison.
David Francis Johns, 53, used a sharpened screwdriver to slash more than 300 tyres in the suburb, according to police.
In January he pleaded guilty to a representative charge of intentional damage to numerous car tyres, and possession of an offensive weapon.
Johns' lawyer asked that he be sentenced on the basis of eight damaged vehicles, but Judge Tim Black said he had 51 victim impact statements and there was $20,000 worth of damage, so he would be basing his sentencing on that.
The judge said the offending was pre-meditated, sustained over a period of months and had multiple victims.
It was aggravated by the fact he'd told a psychologist he was proud of what he'd done and that it was working.
Johns had said if it was workers parking there it would have been ok, but he couldn't stand freeloaders and didn't like the suburb being used as a carpark.
When told that a number of the affected cars didn't belong to those using the airport his response was, "they shouldn't have parked there, should they, when they knew there was a tyre-slasher around".
Johns had described himself as a vigilante who got carried away. He said his actions were effective and he would have carried on if he didn't get caught.
The judge didn't accept that Johns was remorseful and wasn't prepared to convert the sentence to electronic monitoring.
He said he was giving a message that "vigilante action will be met by a stern response from the courts" and that people cannot take the law into their own hands.
There was no order for reparations. The judge said while he knew that would be upsetting to victims, Johns was unemployed, had no assets and relied on a benefit.
Johns earlier told police he slashed the tyres in frustration at the crowded parking situation, after trying to get in touch with council over the issue.
Miramar residents had expressed anger over Wellington airport users parking for free in the suburb, often for long periods of time.
Johns reacted angrily to the media presence outside court after his appearance in January and took a swing at a visual journalist.
A charge of intentional damage carries a maximum of seven years jail.
A charge of possession of an offensive weapon carries a maximum of three years in prison.
Newshub.
