Hunter loses licence after police find firearm in wrong hands

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A hunter’s firearms licence has been revoked and his .22 rifle forfeited after he left it with an unlicensed friend whose house was subsequently searched by police during a family harm callout.

Henry Richard Jerome Lee-Broughton, 27, who had no prior criminal history, abandoned his plan to apply for a discharge without conviction when he appeared for sentence in Gisborne District Court this week.

Having previously pleaded guilty to a charge of supplying a firearm to a non-licensed person, Lee-Broughton was convicted by Judge Turitea Bolstad and ordered to come up if called upon within six months.

Seeking the suspended sentence, counsel Mana Taumaunu had argued the offence was low level and the loss of the rifle would be a significant penalty in itself for Lee-Broughton, who was a passionate hunter.

Mr Taumaunu said Lee-Broughton left the rifle with a mate to clean and was confident it would be safely stored as his friend had a gun safe, although he did not have a firearms licence.

The offence only came to light because his friend was involved in a domestic violence incident, to which police were called and had carried out a search.

Lee-Broughton later went voluntarily to the police station to explain the circumstances.

He had no prior convictions, was employed, and had good family support — his brother had come to court with him.

Police prosecutor Nicholas Fountain agreed the offending was low level and that a suspended sentence or fine was appropriate. He noted the penalty for this type of offence had risen in March, 2020, from a maximum three months imprisonment to two years imprisonment.

Judge Bolstad said she knew the loss of his firearms licence was a “big thing” for a young man who loved to hunt and that the conviction would undoubtedly affect his ability to get a firearms licence in future. However, given the issues this community had in terms of firearms, Lee-Broughton had to take more care, the judge said.

“That (firearms) licence was given to you, not anyone else, and this incident raises what can occur when you delegate that responsibility to someone else.”

The judge accepted it was unlikely Lee-Broughton would appear again in court.

An order was made for forfeiture of the rifle and ammunition.