SENTENCE PASSED
CRIMINALLY STUPID CONDUCT (PA..) WELLINGTON, June 18. Sentence was passed by Mr Justice Johnston in the Supreme Court on a young man who fired a rifle in the direction of a shooting party without intending to hit any of them, but whose bullet struck one. He was Bernard Dooling, a cycle mechanic, aged 20, and he had pleaded guilty in Masterton to a charge of causing actual bodily harm so that if death had resulted he would have been guilty of manslaughter. Mr S. V. Gooding, of Masterton, who appeared for prisoner, said his client had frankly admitted what had happened. He and a friend were shooting near the river bank and some bullets ricochetted dangerously close to them. Dooling was seized with a foolish impulse to warn off the persons responsible for the shots and fired toward them. A bullet that was taken from the arm of a member of the other party was flattened, and that supported the theory that it had ricochetted and was consistent with prisoner’s statement that he had not fired at the party. Remarking that the prisoner was lucky not to have had to answer a more serious charge, his Honour said that while prisoner’s character was good his conduct in this Instance had been criminally stupid. Prisoner was admitted to probation for 12 months, was prohibited from possessing a firearm and was ordered to pay £2/1/- costs.
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Bibliographic details
Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIX, Issue 21992, 18 June 1941, Page 6
Word Count
236SENTENCE PASSED Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIX, Issue 21992, 18 June 1941, Page 6
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