Woman alleges armed threats

Press, 27 May 1981, Page 4

Woman alleges armed threats

Several soldiers are alleged to have fired their rifles and two of them to have aimed their weapons at a young woman the District Court was told yesterday. Three Burnham soldiers denied charges under the Arms Act relating to the alleged incidents.

The defendants were Nii cholas James Bassett, Wil- , liam Ward Campbell, and Ross William Lawson, all ! aged 22, and represented by Mr N. P. Chapman. Bassett denied a charge of presenting a .22 cal. rifle, , and Campbell of presenting a ■ .303 cal. rifle, at a 23-year- ' old woman (whose name was ' suppressed) in the cottage ; late on the evening of March 14Campbell and Lawson ' faced charges of discharging a ,303 cal. rifle near a public place, the Hororata Road, so as to endanger, annoy, or frighten members of the pubi lie in the early hours of , March 15.

Sergeant G. G. Cleland prosecuted. After one of the defendants had given evidence Judge Frampton adjourned the case to today for completion. Neville James Dawson, a wood cutter,. of Dunsandel, gave evidence of having an argument with a young relative who was at the Dunsandel Hotel with the three defendants. He said she was under-age and was “fairly full.”

She eventually went home and he told the defendants to keep away from her.

He and several friends then went to a party, and decided to go to the defendant’s place and talk to Bassett about the earlier incident. Four or five of them drove to the house, in Len Williams’s car.

As they pulled up in the driveway and got out, Mr Dawson said, he saw somebody standing in the doorway holding what appeared to be a rifle. They left and drove 100 m along the road, stopped, and then heard a shot from the house.

They waited 10 to 15 minutes then walked to the house. They saw Campbell at the roadway holding a firearm, with its muzzle pointing at the ground.

More shots were fired and they dived into a ditch. They were given five minutes to come out, and three of them did so and walked up and talked to Campbell. The witness said he and Campbell had a bit of an argument and Campbell then invited them inside. They saw Lawson with a firearm inside the iiouse.

Cross-examined. Mr Dawson said he was not badly affected by liquor. He had had three jugs of beer at the hotel. He had argued with Bassett about his young relative being in the hotel with him and made it quite clear that he was very angry with Bassett.. He and his friends were standing outside the hotel as the three soldiers left, but he did not know of any trouble as they were leaving. He did not hear the defendants’ car window broken from stonethrowing. Mr Dawson said it was Len Williams’s suggestion that they go from the party to the defendants’ house. He was “a bit of a stirrer.” He admitted he was going to the house with the idea of causing trouble. He did not know of a firearm being taken by one of his group. Mr Dawson said he had expected trouble but thought they would go and have a talk to Bassett. Constable G. M. Gordon gave evidence of searching the defendant’s house and

taking possession of four

rifles, a spear gun, sheath knife, bayonet, and loaded and empty magazines or clips of ammunition. The complainant in the charges against Campbell and Bassett of presenting a

.303 cal. and a .22 cal. rifle at her, gave evidence of living with Bassett at the time. She was in bed at 11 p.m. on March 14 when the defendants arrived. Campbell and Bassett entered the room and made a remark which suggested to her they were going to force their attentions on her sexually. She grabbed a knife or bayonet from a window-sill and placed it in her bed because she was scared. Campbell and Bassett then grabbed rifles each and released the safety catches and said they would use them unless she. gave the bayonet back.

One rifle was pointed at her head and the other lower on her body, as she lay in bed. She was told she would be shot unless she gave up the bayonet. Bassett then told her to pack her gear and leave the house, she said. The witness said that while she was packing up her car two cars arrived outside and somebody yelled out to Bassett: “Come out you coward.”

Shots were fired from the back porch, and shortly, after more shots were fired outside the house.

People then came .into the house and began drinking with the defendants.

In cross-examination the witness said she had lived with Bassett for about two weeks. Bassett had made it clear on the night of March 14 that she was not wanted. She said that when she left the property to drive home she saw two persons along the road who tried to run her off the road. She stopped and they immobilised her car by disconnecting wiring. Asked why she had not complained about this incident to the police she said the civilians had not done

anything to make her scared. Immobilising her car was quite a lot different from having rifles pointed at her head, as two of the defendants had done.

Police officers gave evidence of interviewing and taking written statements from each defendant. Each had told of the incident at the hotel with the local youths. Campbell allegedly said in his statement that on their arrival at the house he rented in Hororata Road that it was a common decision to arm themselves against the possibility of the gang from the hotel arriving, because they were outnumbered.

| At the opening of the de- | fence case Mr Chapman subi mitted that there was reasonable cause for the defendants to discharge the firearms in relation to the alleged offences on. March 15. However, the Judge said he wished to hear the defence case at that stage. Campbell’s, evidence was then heard.. He said Neville Dawson tried to cause trouble, approaching their table and telling his young relative to leave. He then began pushing Bassett and when Campbell intervened he' was told by another local person that if he tried anything the whole bar would be against them.

When they left in Camp-> bell’s car it was hit with stones and a window was broken.

They armed themselves when they got to his cottage as they had a feeling by the local gang’s attitude at the hotel that they would call out.

Campbell said he had gone to the young woman’s bedroom because Bassett- has ask&d him about his rnising bayonet. He carried a rifle at. that - stage. When Bassett found the woman had the bayonet he told her to pack up and leave the house, It was then that the gang's cars_ arrived.

Campbell denied pointing the rifle at the woman at any stage.