Man admits threat that caused office lockdown
A man yelled ‘‘I will be there soon with my gun’’ while Work and Income staff were on the phone.
The phone threat by Mitchell Shane Moulton, 35, led to Work and Income offices being locked down on October 30.
Moulton was jailed in 2016 for making threats and firing a shot outside the Linwood Work and Income office in Aldwins Rd the year before.
The latest incident happened when he phoned Work and Income to change the date and time for a phone meeting.
He became abusive towards the call taker. His mother took the phone off him and continued the call, but Moulton could be heard yelling in the background: ‘‘No wonder you get shot at, I will be there soon with my gun.’’
The lockdown at Work and Income sites lasted about two hours, while police found Moulton at his home in Somerfield and searched the property.
In the Christchurch District Court yesterday, he also pleaded
‘‘I will be there soon with my gun.’’
His threat
guilty to possession of a pipe for smoking methamphetamine, possession of a pipe for cannabis, and possession of an offensive weapon – a knuckle duster.
Judge Tom Gilbert refused an electronically monitored bail application and remanded Moulton in custody for sentencing on February 12. He told Moulton he may be granted a community-based sentence on that day if a pre-sentence report was positive.
In 2015, Moulton had been up all night taking methamphetamine before making threats and firing a shot outside the Linwood Work and Income offices.
He was jailed for two years and eight months for the armed incident. After his arrest for that incident, he apologised to the Work and Income staff he threatened and the regional manager, during a restorative justice conference.