Drunken shotgun-spree joyride

A gun-toting man has been jailed for blindly firing shots out of a car window during a drunken drive around Palmerston North.

The rampage occurred only minutes after the man held a knife to a woman’s throat and threatened to shoot two others.

Jesse David Toner, 30, will spend the next three years behind bars, after he was sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court on Friday.

Police were called on the evening of May 11, 2017, when a vehicle was seen fish-tailing along Pioneer Highway, Judge David Smith said. Gunshots were also heard coming from the car.

Police stopped Toner shortly after, near Longburn, where a breath test revealed he had 700 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 250mcg.

A search of the vehicle uncovered a sawn-off rifle.

Police did not believe Toner was firing at anything in particular, the judge said, and no-one was injured.

It was later discovered he came from an associate’s house, where, after a heavy drinking session, he had fired gunshots and assaulted a woman.

The judge said Toner walked into the living room, pulled the gun from the back of his pants and began abusing the woman.

He threw her to the floor, pinning her to the ground while holding the blunt edge of a knife to her throat. He then pressed down.

He pushed her away, but returned minutes later to con- tinue the torment. He put the barrel of the gun to her head and instructed her to get into the car, but she secretly texted her cousin to say she was in danger.

Toner fired the gun when the cousin arrived, shouting that people were going to die. That is when he took off in the car.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said Toner was often abusive when drunk. ‘‘I hope he will get the help he needs.’’

Crown prosecutor Karl van der Plas said the attack was premeditated because Toner brought the gun to the property.

Defence lawyer Richard Bedford said Toner would seek work in the construction industry once released from prison and had completed several drug and alcohol courses. ‘‘It’s a deeply unfortunate incident to have happened. He’s acknowledged the matter.’’ Bedford said Toner had suffered a mental breakdown prior to the incident. He was disqualified from driving for two years and three months.

Toner fired the gun when the cousin arrived, shouting that people were going to die.