Man who shot at intruders sentenced on drug charges
Dealing drugs had consequences for Orren Williams – four masked, armed men breaking into his rural Waikato home.
They smashed their way inside in the early hours of June 6, 2019, searching for cannabis they’d heard would be a good earn. Williams’ wife and children escaped out a window of the hilltop Waikato farm property and Williams shot the men, one fatally.
This brought him to police attention and led to three drugs charges he was sentenced for in the High Court at Hamilton yesterday.
Orren Scott Williams, 39, was sentenced to 11 months and two weeks of home detention by Justice Pheroze Jagose.
His defence lawyer claimed he was ‘‘only selling a few ounces’’ of cannabis and faced the ‘‘nightmare’’ consequence of the break-in at his home near
Ka¯ whia.
The Crown, however, argued he was willing to be involved in ‘‘wholesale supply’’ and had an established customer base.
Williams was previously found not guilty of four charges relating to shooting at the home intruders.
He admitted the drug charges: possession of methamphetamine, possession of cannabis for supply, and offering to sell cannabis.
He planned to act as middleman when pounds of cannabis were offered for about
$3200, but that didn’t go ahead, the court heard.
Ounces were sold for $200 to
$300.
‘‘None of that was particularly sophisticated or – in light of the incomplete transactions – largescale,’’ Justice Jagose said.
But it was premeditated, and being middleman involved Williams in larger-scale offending, and facilitated others’ offending.
‘‘He, by his conduct, brought upon himself what can only be described as a nightmare’’ which ended in tragedy, defence counsel Philip Morgan QC said.
The Crown argued he had suppliers and an established customer base, prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton said.
Williams said the cannabis at home was for personal use and pain relief, Justice Jagose said.
The larger amount was ‘‘to help a friend earn money to buy a house before the birth of his child’’.
He occasionally used meth socially but said what he had on him was simply collateral for a debt.
Williams’ best chance of rehabilitation and reintegration was to keep working on his and his in-laws’ farms, the judge said, which would need to be authorised by probation.