Crown urged to not appeal shoot verdict

The Crown is being urged by Northland political and farming leaders not to appeal the acquittal of a Far North farmer who shot at thieves on his farm.
Paul McIntyre, 47, of Whangae, 8km northwest of Kawakawa, was cleared on Tuesday of any wrongdoing for shooting at thieves he caught stealing his quad bike in October 2002.
Judge Michael Lance directed a jury at the Kaikohe District Court to find Mr McIntyre not guilty of the charge before any evidence had been heard in the trial. The direction came after almost two days of intense legal arguments.
Mr McIntyre was being retried on a charge of discharging a firearm in a manner likely to endanger the safety of others.
A jury had earlier found him not guilty of shooting one of the thieves, Sam Hati, with reckless disregard for the safety of others, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charge of discharging a firearm in a manner likely to endanger the safety of others.
After Judge Lance's direction - allowed under a little-used section of the Crimes Act - the jury took less than two minutes to reach the not-guilty verdict.
However, it leaves the way open for the Crown to appeal the verdict, opening the possibility of Mr McIntyre facing another trial on the charge.
Crown prosecutor Kim Thomas said that decision would be made by the Crown Law Office, in Wellington.
But Northland MP John Carter and Northland Federated Farmers spokesman Bill Guest have warned that it would be a grave mistake for the Crown to appeal the "sensible" decision.
Mr Carter, who opposed the charge going to a retrial in the first place, said it was "fantastic news" that Mr McIntyre had been cleared.
"It's good to know there are some judges still around who understand what commonsense is. This (decision) helps restore faith in the legal system to a degree," Mr Carter said.
"The message now (to thieves who went on private property to steal) is don't do it or there could be serious consequences. That's a good message to send out to those people that they really do run the risk of harm.
"It's saying farmers and any property owners have the right to defend their property - their home is their castle."
He said New Zealanders had had enough of crime and were fighting back.
Mr Guest said the public would not take too kindly to the Crown launching an appeal.
"This decision gives everybody in New Zealand, especially those in rural areas, the chance to say they are sick and tired of crime and they can now stand up and defend themselves," he said.
* The 37-year-old Peter John Reyland is about 1.8m tall and of medium to solid build.
He has long straight hair to the middle of his back, although that may have been cut. He could have left Northland and headed for Christchurch, police believe.