Bullet passed hunter, killed companion

Press, 16 July 1986, Page 43

Bullet passed hunter, killed companion

PA New Plymouth

A Rotorua hunter has told in court how a bullet passed his neck and hit his companion, killing him.

The evidence was presented in the District Court at Taupo at a hearing in which a Turangi leading hand, lan James Read, aged 41, pleaded not guilty to careless use of a firearm, causing the death of a Rotorua Forest Service senior ranger, Harry Vlpond, In April. Read was represented by a Taupo lawyer, Mr Paul Thomas. Sergeant Neil Peterson appeared for the prosecution. The hearing before Judge Monaghan lasted 2% hours and involved four witnesses. Read was found guilty of the charge and fined $l5OO.

A Rotorua post control officer, Roger Anthony David Lorigan, who was with Mr Vlpond when he was shot in the Pukepoto Forest north-east of Turangi, told the Court they had stopped for afternoon tea during a hunting expedition. A few minutes earlier, and about 100 metres

away, Mr Vipond had imitated a stag roar using a radiator hose. They sat down against a log and tree for something to eat Mr Lorigan said he had just offered a bun to Mr Vipond, and was leaning forward when he heard a shot felt the movement of a bullet by his neck and turned around to see Mr Vipond had been hit “With me just moving a fraction forward, it hit Harry,” he said. Mr Lorigan told the Court the accident happened in quite open forest Both he and Mr Vipond were wearing brown clothing.

There had been evidence of deer in the area, with fresh tracks and a stag wallow, he said. Mr Lorigan, who had been hunting for about 15 years, said the first rule in all hunting was not to shoot at colour, movement or sound. “You must see the whole animal to identify it” he said. Read told the court he arranged the permit for him and two companions to go hunting in Puketoto Forest When he collected

the documents he checked with the receptionist and found no other permits had been issued in the area.

- He did this as a safety measure, Read said.

On the day of the accident the party’s fourth day in the bush, he had seen what he thought was a stag 60 to 100 metres away, and soon after heard a roar from the same direction.

It was only after watching for several minutes that he shot at the target, Read said.

“I was absolutely sure that I was shooting deer. That is why I took five to six minutes — I have always done that” Read said the jackets worn by Mr Vipond and Mr Lorigan were the same colour as a stag. The day was overcast and the light was dull, and that was why he took so long over his identification.

The Judge said he found that Read fell short of the standard of care required to identify his target Read’s duty was to ensure that what he was shooting at was a deer by

obtaining the standards necessary in the circumstances, which was to see the deer as a whole.

The Judge said Read’s carelessness could not be overlooked. Read's culpability did not extend to a prison sentence or periodic detention, and he accepted the point that the Incident would he with Read for the rest of his life.