Gun supplier sentenced

WHANGAREI: The man who supplied firearms — including militarystyle semiautomatics — to a gunman who later killed a property manager and her daughter has been sentenced to a year’s home detention.

Michael John Hayes appeared at the Whangarei District Court yesterday after earlier admitting firearms charges, including supplying them to Quinn Patterson, who did not have a gun licence.

Patterson went on to shoot Wendy Campbell and her daughter Natanya when the pair visited his Mt Tiger Rd home in July last year.

Judge John McDonald said Hayes knew Patterson did not have a firearms licence but left six guns at Patterson’s home and helped him to buy more in online auctions.

The guns included three classed as semiautomatic military style rifles that Judge McDonald said were designed for only one purpose — to kill people.

He took time off Hayes’ sentence for his army service and humanitarian work in Asia, and his early guilty pleas.

‘‘Mr Hayes, this has been a difficult sentencing exercise for me. On the one hand I have a man who has, for almost his entire life, served others,’’ Judge McDonald said.

‘‘On the other . . . you’ve allowed yourself to be trapped by Mr Patterson . . . to provide him with an arsenal of firearms.’’ — RNZ