Gun ‘went off by accident’
PA Blenheim Shane Shannon Hamilton said the gun which killed the Picton Mongrel Mob leader, John Michael Little, went off by accident, a Nelson detective told the High Court in Blenheim on Wednesday. Detective John Oakley was giving evidence for the prosecution at the trial of three men charged with Little’s murder on August 26. Hamilton, aged 25, a sickness beneficiary, James Kehu Wehi, aged 26, a contractor and Reihana Chase, aged 29, a carpenter have
all denied the charge. Chase and Wehi also deny alternative charges of being an accessory after the fact. Detective Oakley said that he had questioned and obtained a statement from Hamilton at the Blenheim police station after the shooting in Waikawa Road on August 26. Detective Oakley said that Hamilton admitted picking up the rifle to “scare” Mr Little. However, he had not realised there was a bullet “in the action and got a fright when the gun went off.”
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Press, 9 March 1984, Page 13
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161Gun ‘went off by accident’ Press, 9 March 1984, Page 13
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