Man shoots his accuser

A Taranaki man who was confronted for allegedly ripping off a house has been jailed for shooting his accuser.

The confrontation turned bloody after the victim turned up at Lakapo James Junior Ale’s Waitara address in January and demanded the return of his friend’s stuff.

He had been told Ale, 28, had earlier gone to his friend’s unoccupied home, also in Waitara, and swiped a few items.

The victim took it upon himself to see his mate’s property returned.

When he arrived at Ale’s house, the defendant was spotted sitting in the basement with a woman.

He confronted Ale through an open window and the two spoke for about two minutes before the defendant flipped the mattress of a nearby bed, grabbed a gun and pointed it at the victim.

The man told Ale he’d had guns pointed at him before and wasn’t scared, which saw Ale lower the weapon to his side.

The pair continued talking about the alleged stolen property before the victim, now concerned for his safety, decided to leave.

As he turned to walk away Ale shot the man’s left arm, striking his elbow joint.

Attempting to disarm Ale, he reached in through the window to grab the gun but the defendant moved backwards.

The man then ran and took cover behind vehicles parked in the driveway before Ale fired a second shot in his direction.

The victim did not seek medical treatment for several weeks, but eventually underwent surgery for his injury when he did.

The bullet had broken a bone and detached the tricep muscle from the joint.

On March 13, a police search of Ale’s home turned up a sawn off single barrel shotgun covered in black electrical tape and 17 live shotgun shells.

Police also searched his vehicle in which a loaded .22 pistol with an attached silencer was found.

In addition to the round loaded in the pistol, another nine live shells were found.

At a previous appearance, Ale pleaded guilty to three charges in relation to the shooting incident – one each of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, possession of a pistol and discharge of a firearm with reckless disregard.

Yesterday, he reappeared at New Plymouth District Court where he provided a letter containing what Judge Chris Sygrove described as ‘‘genuine remorse’’ for his actions.

‘‘That’s a very good letter... it expresses true remorse and in a genuine way,’’ he told Ale.

‘‘As a result of that I’m going to reduce your sentence by three months.’’

Judge Sygrove heard Ale had been engaging in courses while on remand, and was focussed on doing better for his children.

He suggested the defendant keep a copy of the letter to read if he felt he was going to reoffend in the future.

On all charges, Ale was sentenced to four years and three months jail.

He was issued his first strike warning.

Judge Sygrove made an order for the destruction of the firearm and ammunition.