Man shot pig without licence
A man who encouraged his friend to lie to police after he was caught using a firearm without a licence and driving while disqualified made ‘‘incredibly stupid decisions’’, a court has heard.
Luke Fabian King, 39, pleaded guilty in the Nelson District Court on Monday to possessing a firearm without a licence, making a false statement and two counts of driving while disqualified.
A police summary of facts said King was towing a horse float from Glenduan to Murchison on February 1 with a large pig in the back. The animal was injured after jumping from the float.
King stopped at an associate’s house in Stoke around 10am to borrow a rifle. He then drove to the end of Marsden Valley Rd and shot the pig in the float which was witnessed by members of the public, who then called police.
King returned the rifle and then called police, agreeing to meet them in Wakefield.
He then texted his associate and encouraged him to lie to police.
The associate, Ian James Norriss, 44, appeared in the Nelson District Court on February 4 on charges of supplying a firearm and making a false statement. He was sentenced to 120 hours’ community work.
On April 3, during the level 4 lockdown, King was driving on State Highway 65 in Shenandoah when he was stopped by police.
King was identified as a disqualified driver.
Judge Tony Zohrab said once he had seen the text messages it was ‘‘really hard to place any weight on any explanation for anything’’.
King was sentenced to 180 hours’ community work on all charges, an order was made for destruction of the firearm and he was disqualified from driving for eight months.