The New Zealand Herald

Farmer sentenced on gun charges

- Belinda Feek Open Justice

AKing Country farmer acquitted after chopping the tip off a teen’s finger in a bungled home invasion has been sentenced for unlawful possession of the firearm.

William “Bill” Burr and son, Shaun, were found not guilty on multiple charges by a jury in May this year after two teens broke into his home and attacked him.

Despite being outnumbere­d, and the teen boy being bigger, Burr managed to outwit the pair and grabbed a shotgun out of his closet after being woken and struck with a wine bottle over the head before they demanded the keys to his car.

After grabbing his gun, Burr called his son Shaun who also came to his home to help hold the pair, one male and one female, on the ground until help — including police — arrived.

The pair were acquitted of multiple charges including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm or maiming with intent after chopping the tip of the boy’s finger off, in a bid to get him to release a knife he was lying on.

Burr was back in the High Court at Hamilton yesterday for sentencing on three charges: unlawful possession of a firearm without a licence, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of explosives — the ammunition for the shotgun.

Burr was charged a second time after police went to his house after the home invasion and found a loaded firearm, along with a box of ammunition.

Burr’s lawyer, Philip Morgan KC, said the shotgun used in the home invasion was handed down to him from his father about 50 years ago and he’d just never got around to getting a licence for it.

The second firearm was bought for him by concerned family after rumours began circulatin­g that associates of the teen boy were going to seek revenge.

Crown prosecutor Kaleb Whyte said a loaded firearm should never be left unsecured in a house, and Burr should also have gained a licence for the weapon.

Whyte said a message of deterrence and denunciati­on needed to be sent to others and suggested a sentence of home detention would be appropriat­e, more so after the second shotgun was found just a week after the incident.

A pre-sentence report assessed Burr at a low risk of reoffendin­g but also lacking remorse and a sense of entitlemen­t over what happened.

Morgan urged Justice Kiri Tahana to focus on the criminalit­y of the circumstan­ces relating to the most serious charge which had a maximum sentence of four years’ prison.

He said, apart from a drink-driving charge, his client had no other conviction­s and was a contributi­ng member of society.

Despite being faced with the teen threatenin­g him and his girlfriend hitting him over the head with a wine bottle, being outsized, outnumbere­d and the boy holding a knife, he never pulled the trigger.

Justice Tahana agreed there was no need for jail or home detention but said the offending warranted a maximum community work sentence of 400 hours, with six months’ community detention.

 ?? ?? William Burr
William Burr

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