Reckless discharge of shotgun

Press, 4 October 1985, Page 19

Reckless discharge of shotgun

A jury in the High Court yesterday took less than 10 minutes to find a man guilty of recklessly discharging a firearm. The accused whose name was suppressed, was given a deferred sentence. Mr R. E. Neave appeared for the Crown, and Miss P. D. Costigan for the accused. The trial was before Mr Justice Hardie-Boys. Mr Neame said that the incident, which occurred in Christchurch, had a domestic background. The accused knew that his wife had a relationship with another man. He tolerated the affair until he learnt that his wife planned to go overseas with her lover.

After pleading unsuccessfully with his wife not to go he bought a shotgun and confronted the other man. The shotgun went off and the man was shot in the leg.

The accused later admitted to detectives that he had fired the shotgun, but said he aimed to miss. It was the first gun he had fired in 50 years and, on reflection, he did not think he had an made allowance for the recoil. A charge of firing the shotgun with intent to cause grievous bodily harm was struck out by his Honour after the man who was shot declined to give evidence. He told his Honour that he had been friends with the accused for years and did not believe he should be punished. Miss Costigan said the accused had wanted to keep in contact with his wife and it was an understandable reaction for him to be “shattered” by the news of her departure for overseas. “His plan war simple. He was going to make — (his wife’s lover) listen to him.”