New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Use of firearm

Legal area

Court

30 Jun 2022

R v RANUI DICK-KARETAI [2022] NZHC 1536

Citation

[2022] NZHC 1536
Court

High Court

Given multiple significant aggravating features (near-lethal head injury causing permanent impairment, use of firearm, invasion of home in breach of trespass and evidence of premeditation) the appropriate starting point was 11 years and six months; applying a full 25% discount for an early guilty plea, a 10% discount for good character and personal mitigation, and a 5% discount for remorse (total 40% reduction) produced an end sentence of six years and eleven months' imprisonment; a forfeiture and destruction order for the .22 rifle and ammunition was made under s69 Arms Act 1983 and no minim…
19 Sept 2019

WADDINGTON v R [2019] NZCA 440

Citation

[2019] NZCA 440
Court

Court of Appeal

The nine-year starting point was appropriate given appellant's active participation, serious violence including use of weapons, and home invasion context; her culpability was not reduced by not personally possessing the firearm; the District Court judge did not err in declining a remorse discount because the pre-sentence report showed failure to accept responsibility; therefore the appeal against sentence was dismissed.
28 May 2018

R v JADALLAH [2018] NZHC 1211

Citation

[2018] NZHC 1211
Court

High Court

The offender committed a premeditated home invasion aggravated robbery with a firearm present, threats made and an associate assaulting the victim; applying R v Mako factors a seven‑year starting point was appropriate, reduced by six months to account for a contemporaneously sentenced Arms Act conviction, and no uplift was imposed for prior history, resulting in a final sentence of six and a half years' imprisonment.
18 Aug 2017

R v SALT [2017] NZHC 1979

Citation

[2017] NZHC 1979
Court

High Court

Judge found multiple serious aggravating factors (planning/premeditation, gang involvement, weapon use, significant physical and psychological harm to an innocent victim) and set a starting point of four years and six months' imprisonment; applying discounts of nine months for guilty pleas, three months for remorse and restorative justice, and three months for time on EM bail yielded an effective sentence of three years and three months which was imposed concurrently on both counts.

New Zealand Case Law

R v RANUI DICK-KARETAI [2022] NZHC 1536

WADDINGTON v R [2019] NZCA 440

R v JADALLAH [2018] NZHC 1211

R v SALT [2017] NZHC 1979