Hamilton shoplifter says she can ‘go where I want’ after being caught by police
A recidivist shoplifter in Hamilton, New Zealand, was sentenced after a three-month crime spree involving theft, burglary, and vehicle theft. The defendant, who claimed a right to access businesses despite being trespassed, was found with multiple illicit substances upon arrest.
Why it matters
The case highlights issues regarding recidivism, retail crime, and the intersection of criminal justice and social welfare.
After being caught stealing from Kmart, a recidivist shoplifter told police she could go where she wanted.
“I’m not trespassed; I was born here. I’m Tainui. I can go where I want,” Karrie-Ann Tiny Moana Lee Ngahere said.
She was later taken to Hamilton Central police station, where Ngahere was found with drugs including GHB, methamphetamine and cannabis.
The incident concluded a shoplifting spree over three months to December 2025.
This week, she appeared for sentencing in the Hamilton District Court before Judge Glen Marshall on charges of burglary, shoplifting, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, possession of cannabis, fantasy substances and meth.
The first incident happened in May last year after Ngahere and a friend had wrapped up a night partying in the city’s nightclubs.
The pair were keen to go home and came across a man whom they asked for a lift.
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