An unemployed Whangarei man who terrorised a beach-side community by indiscriminately firing from a sawn-off shotgun has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. Jared Hepi, 28, of Tikipunga, appeared for sentencing in the Whangarei District Court yesterday on charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and unlawful possession of afirearm. He pleaded guilty on October 12, 2009. Judge Duncan Harvey said Hepi drove to the rear of a house at the end of Kukupa Pl, Matapouri, about 10pm on October 6, 2009. He then fired three shots at the direction of the house which was occupied by two adults and four children at the time. Hepi drove out of the driveway and on to a street where several more shots were indiscriminately fired. Judge Harvey said although no one was injured, residents were very distressed. Later that evening, police stopped a vehicle at Church Bay in which Hepi and two others were travelling and recovered parts of a double barrel shotgun, namely a "cut down" barrel, receiver and trigger guard. The firearm's butt was missing but the firing pins were attached.
In court yesterday, Hepi's lawyer Dave Sayes disputed the summary of facts which stated his client went to Kokopu Pl with two others. Mr Sayes said Hepi acted alone and did not target any individual or house but was simply "skylarking". He said Hepi fired in the direction of the house but above it and into the bushes. After the shooting, he said Hepi drove to Dolphin Pl where he picked up two men to drink alcohol with before police stopped them. Mr Sayes called for a short prison term because his client had pleaded guilty at an early stage. Judge Harvey said it was a very serious offending and that a sawn-off shotgun invoked fear in the community. He fixed a starting point of two years and reduced it by three months on each charge to arrive at an end sentence of 18 months. Hepi had 30 previous convictions.
