Marlborough man leaves boys with loaded rifle on beach, judge condemns 'stupid behaviour'
By Tracy Neal, Open Justice reporter of
Aaron Grant Pickering has been sentenced in the Nelson District Court on firearms and hunting charges after a trip with two young boys to d'Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds.
Photo:
NZME
A man left two young boys on a beach with a loaded rifle while he went off fishing and drinking.
Now he's been told off by a judge for his "stupid behaviour" that could have set the boys up for a lifetime of grief, after they tried to shoot a pig.
"You left a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old with a loaded .308 rifle to go hunting on the island while you went drinking and fishing.
"God knows who they might have shot and killed or wounded," Judge Tony Snell said in a scathing sentencing of Aaron Grant Pickering.
The 50-year-old, who did not have a firearms licence after it was earlier revoked, later claimed to have tossed the rifle into the sea off d'Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds.
Judge Snell said there was no way the boys could have known if anyone was nearby when they shot at a pig from the beach.
To put it mildly, he said it was "stupid behaviour" on Pickering's part, that might have had devastating consequences for the boys if they had injured someone else.
"It was a massive recipe for disaster," and the most serious offending of its type, Judge Snell said.
Pickering, who was said by his lawyer to spend long periods at sea as a crew member on a Niwa vessel, today admitted in the Nelson District Court charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful hunting.
The police summary of facts said the hunting trip was on private land on d'Urville Island. His firearms licence had been revoked in 2009 after a final protection order was made against him.
In April 2013 Pickering inquired about getting his firearms licence back, but was told that a protection order was still in place, and to investigate how it might be discharged. The police summary of facts said the order remains in place.
On 8 January Pickering, who lived in Marlborough's Rai Valley, about half way between Nelson and Blenheim, took the boys on the trip.
At about 7pm that night he dropped the boys on a beach with the loaded rifle, which had a telescopic scope and a suppressor, and went off to a fishing spot.
The police said Pickering continued drinking as he fished.
A short time later the 10 year-old shot at a pig, but after a short search he and the other boy were unable to find the animal.
Pickering tried to start his boat, but couldn't because of mechanical problems, so signalled to the driver of a boat nearby, who came to help.
Pickering asked the people on board to collect the boys off the island, but when they found them, they asked the youngsters who had given them permission to hunt there.
Neither was able to answer, and continually changed their story, the police said.
Pickering later told the police that he had the rifle to "put meat on the table" and that he had thrown it into the ocean on return to Admiralty Bay.
Defence lawyer Mark Dollimore said Pickering had "shot himself in the foot," with the charges, and accepted it was unlikely that the police or court might believe the rifle had been ditched.
Judge Snell said he had read that with a "huge amount of scepticism".
"I don't believe it has been thrown away", he said.
Judge Snell said there were several aggravating features to Pickering's offending, including that he had been disqualified from holding a firearms licence, he was hunting on private land, which the owner knew nothing about, and he had left the boys with a loaded rifle.
He said there was a lot at stake for Pickering, including his employment and in his personal life, but it was a "foolish act on many levels".
Judge Snell said in sentencing Pickering to 120 hours of community work, and fining him $2000, that he was unlikely to ever get his firearms licence back now.
He noted Pickering's previous offending, and said if there was any repeat of a firearms charge, he would likely end up in jail.
Judge Snell added a final warning on Pickering's file.
*
This story originally appeared in the
New Zealand Herald
.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Ōtara Kāinga Ora tenant evicted after repeatedly abusing agency staff
By Catherine Hutton, Open Justice reporter of An Ōtara Kāinga Ora tenant has been evicted after the agency told him to remove his dogs from the property. Photo: Supplied / NZME A Kāinga Ora tenant has been evicted from his home after repeatedly becoming aggressive and yelling "f*** you" at staff when he was told to remove his dogs from the property. The agency applied to end Vena Funaki's period tenancy at the Ōtara house, arguing that he swore at staff, and was aggressive and intimidating. But to have Funaki's tenancy terminated by the Tenancy Tribunal, Kāinga Ora had to show three incidents of anti-social behaviour had occurred in three months. According to the tribunal's recent decision, it was able to do so. The first incident occurred in a Kāinga Ora office in September last year when Funaki met to discuss his dog allegedly attacking a tradesperson, as well as the condition of the property. As the meeting was coming to an end, Funaki yelled "f*** you" at two staff members and continued to use explicit language in the foyer as he left the building. Two weeks later, two Kāinga Ora staff visited the Bairds Road home to check the dogs had been removed, as discussed at the earlier meeting. The decision stated Funaki was aggressive when he answered the door and during the conversation, became agitated. He told the pair to "f*** off", the decision noted, describing Funaki as yelling and being aggressive and intimidating. A month later, on 31 October, two senior housing support managers visited the property after reports the dogs were still there, and again to discuss the condition of the house. Funaki told the pair he had the dogs and would challenge Kāinga Ora in court. The decision stated that as the pair left the property, Funaki used "unacceptable language", including yelling at them to "f*** off" and waving his arms. Funaki denied receiving two of three notices Kāinga Ora said it had fixed to his front door, as well as leaving a copy in his letterbox after each incident. The tribunal found Kāinga Ora had provided Funaki with the necessary written notice after each incident and hadn't acted in a retaliatory way. It ordered the tenancy to be terminated and for Funaki to be evicted. When approached by NZME about the case, Kāinga Ora said it did not comment on Tenancy Tribunal decisions but referred to information relating to disruptive behaviour on its website. That information stated that as of July last year, the agency had changed its approach to disruptive behaviour by its tenants. It noted this included working to understand what's driving the behaviour and referring tenants to specialist social and health services to address underlying issues if needed. However, if behaviour did not change, it would end tenancies and not offer the tenant another home, it stated. Data on its website showed that in the current financial year, 63 tenancies have been terminated without offering a tenant another home, compared to 12 in the year before. -This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Justice Minister proposes higher penalties for assaults against first responders
The proposed legislation was promised in National's coalition agreement with New Zealand First. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has proposed the introduction of higher penalties for people who assault first responders. Goldsmith's proposal would expand the current assault against police to also cover prison officers and all first responders. The new offence of assaulting a first responder with intent to injure would mean up to five years in prison - two years higher than the standard offence. Actually injuring them would carry a sentence of up to seven years and counts against the three strikes regime, which can impose mandatory minimum sentences. The proposed legislation was promised in National's coalition agreement with New Zealand First. More to come ... Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Sentencing reforms introduced cap potential discounts and bring new aggravating factors
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says the sentencing reforms were about restoring real consequences for crime. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Sentencing reforms which will cap discounts judges can give to an offender and introduce aggravating factors at sentencing, have come into effect as the government targets tougher crime consequences. The Labour Party says the move will only exacerbate an already clogged court system, add huge costs to the taxpayer by increasing the prison population, and will not reduce crime or the number of victims. But Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the sentencing reforms, which came into effect on Sunday, were about restoring real consequences for crime. Communities and hardworking New Zealanders should not be made to live and work in fear of criminals who had a "flagrant disregard for the law, corrections officers and the general public", he said. "We know that undue leniency has resulted in a loss of public confidence in sentencing, and our justice system as a whole. We had developed a culture of excuses." The tougher stance was part of the government's plan to "restore law and order, which we know is working", he said. "It signals to victims that they deserve justice, and that they are our priority." The changes include: ACT MP Nicole McKee welcomed the new rules saying there had been a steady erosion of public confidence in the justice system. "Offenders faced fewer and shorter prison sentences, while communities paid the price." ACT MP Nicole McKee welcomed the new rules. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone She said police data showed a 134 percent increase in serious assault leading to injury from 2017 to 2023 under "Labour's failed experiment of being kind to criminals". "We've restored Three Strikes , and from today additional measures are coming into force to make the message even clearer." She said the vulnerability of people who worked alone or in a business attached to their home would be "recognised in law" thanks to ACT's coalition agreement to crack down on retail crime with the introduction of the aggravating factors. Labour's spokesperson for Justice Duncan Webb, however, said tough on crime sounded good but did not actually have the effect of reducing crime. "We've got to be smart on crime as well. We've got to address the causes of crime which we know are poverty, family violence, mental illness and addiction, and until we address those, there'll continue to be crime and there'll continue to be victims." Tougher sentences were just one option, he said. "If we're gonna be serious about reducing crime and reducing harm, we've got to address those causes of crime." Labour spokesperson for Justice Duncan Webb said tougher sentences were just one option. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Evidence showed tough on crime initiatives such as the Three Strikes law, which the government had reinstated, did not reduce victims, Webb said. "Victims are absolutely central to the approach and the best thing we could ever have is avoiding someone becoming a victim and that means addressing the causes of crime before crime occurs. "And absolutely I understand that when people are victims of crime they want to see the perpetrator punished and that's the right thing to happen, but I'd rather see the appropriate amount of resources put into mental health, reducing poverty, [and] eliminating homelessness, because those are things that create crime and we've seen them all increase under this government." The fact white collar crime such as fraud - which was one of the few crimes that responded to deterrents - was not captured by Three Strikes was inconsistent, Webb said. Webb said he had sought feedback from those in the social services, intervention, and criminal justice sectors. "They're all frustrated with the fact the direction that's being taken is going to clog up the courts, it's going to create more offenders, it's going to create more victims and it's not actually going to address what we really want to address which is the things that cause crime." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
