Shotgun in park incident was ‘probably stolen’
A shotgun fired four times in the Rawhiti Domain in New Brighton on Sunday night was probably stolen, according to the 20-year-old who admits firing the blasts.
Joshua Ngatiki Ngarimu pleaded guilty to two charges in the Christchurch District Court today, after being held in custody since his arrest.
Two other men were arrested at the same time, in a car-stop by armed police in Pages Road later on Sunday night. One of those men has been released on bail and the other remains in custody until next week.
Police say Ngarimu was the one who fired the shotgun four times at a tree about 10pm in a domain that has many entrances and is open to the public 24 hours a day.
He pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful possession of the weapon and firing it with reckless disregard for people’s safety.
Prosecutor Sergeant Glenn Pascoe said the police received complaints about the blasts in the park, and a dog handler saw a man with a shotgun near Keyes Road but he had left in a vehicle carrying two others before other police arrived.
When armed police stopped the car in Pages Road, Ngarimu was in the front passenger seat and the shotgun was in the middle of the back seat, wrapped in material.
Nine shotgun cartridges were found in the rear pocket of the passenger seat, including some of a type not usually used for game hunting in New Zealand.
Ngarimu told police the gun belonged to him but was “probably stolen”. He said he was on the way to see someone about selling it.
Judge David Saunders said a deterrent sentence might have to be considered. “We can’t have people with shotguns discharging them recklessly in public places.”
He remanded Ngarimu in custody for sentence, and asked for a pre-sentence report to consider his suitability for home detention. He noted that he had breached his last community detention and been sentenced to imprisonment for that last year.
Category: News
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