‘Gunman’ had stopped taking meds
A Taranaki man who sent a number of schools into lockdown when he walked the streets with a 40-centimetre imitation gun has been warned by a judge to take his medication.
Alan Regan has bipolar affective disorder which he manages with medication, the New Plymouth District Court court heard. But if he stops taking his medication he ‘‘runs into trouble’’, defence lawyer Turitea Bolstad said.
The disorder is a mental condition marked by alternating periods of depression and elation.
Regan, 61, had stopped taking his medication when, on the morning of June 20, he covered his face with a bandanna and walked the streets of Westown, in New Plymouth, with what looked like a firearm.
Members of the public were quick to call police to report a gunman and schools in the area, including Devon Intermediate and St Joseph’s, were put into lockdown.
Regan was arrested about 20 minutes later at 8.40am on Tukapa St and police determined the ‘‘weapon’’ was in fact a toy gun. He told arresting officers the incident was a ‘‘political stunt’’.
That same day, he appeared in court on a charge of unlawful possession of an imitation firearm. He was remanded into custody where he has remained for the past four months.
Yesterday, he returned to court for sentencing on the charge, which he pleaded guilty to at another hearing.
Bolstad asked Judge Sharyn Denise Otene to consider a sentence which would provide Regan with oversight, such as supervision. When there was a change to his personal circumstances Regan becomes stressed and misses doses of his medication and that’s when he begins to spiral, she submitted.
But prosecutor Georgia Milne emphasised the seriousness of his offending.
‘‘It caused public panic,’’ she said.
Judge Otene noted Regan did not have any convictions prior to 2013.
When he did begin offending at the age of 57, they were driving offences but they had recently become more serious, she said.
Reports provided to the court explained why he was gathering convictions later in life.
‘‘The long-standing background is the bipolar affective disorder of which you live,’’ Judge Otene said. ‘‘It seems also there has been an unravelling of your personal relationships, business difficulties and physical health issues.’’
For the majority of Regan’s life he had run a business, raised a family and enjoyed wellestablished personal relationships, Judge Otene said in summary. But his offending frightened the public. The seriousness, though, was mitigated by his circumstances, she concluded.
Judge Otene stepped back from a prison sentence and instead imposed six months’ supervision with a number of conditions, including to engage with community mental health and abide by his medication requirements.
‘‘And I know that you can do that because you’ve led a productive life for many, many years.’’