Mitchell Orstler probably thought he was doing someone a favour. Now he's doing time. The 47-year-old turned up at the Whangarei police station after his mate, Tehere Maihi Maaka, was charged with possessing a firearm.
"The gun's mine," said Orstler. "Fair enough," said the police and charged him with unlawfullypossessing a firearm.
Sounds simple enough. Except that Maaka is a gang member and Judge John McDonald did not think much of Orstler's explanation that the gun was for shooting pigs. Maaka has pleaded not guilty to possessing the gun.
Orstler admitted possession, and was yesterday sentenced to 23 months in prison for possessing the gun and shotgun cartridges. A visibly shocked Orstler might be considering the wisdom of admitting he owned the gun. He's not a gang member, he just lives with one.
So often you hear judges or prosecutors say that a sentence should act as a deterrent. This is one of those sentences that has to make people think twice about having anything to do with gangs and maybe even guns.
So often we whinge about the "judiciary" getting it wrong and "slaps with a wet bus ticket".
Judge McDonald's sentence is a shotgun butt in the mouth.
With support like that from the judiciary, perhaps we as individuals should consider our own tolerance to gangs and gang crime - isn't it time to say no?
