Firearms and assault on wife earn jail sentence

A Kaipara man described by his lawyer as having an "unmatched sense of righteous indignation" has been jailed for 14 months for unlawfully possessing firearms and assaulting his wife.
Carl Butcher, 37, appeared for sentencing in the Whangarei District Court on Friday after being found guilty on two counts of unlawfully possessing firearms (a shotgun and .22 rifle) and pleading guilty to one charge of assaulting a female.
Butcher was having a dispute with neighbours in the middle of 2007 when they saw him near their home with a shotgun. Butcher had earlier had his firearms licence revoked and was not allowed to possess any guns. Police later found a .22 rifle hidden in the roof of his Donnellys Crossing home.
Defence lawyer Roger Bowden said the Butchers deeply regretted moving to Donnellys Crossing, which he described as being like "Deliverance country".
Mr Bowden said Butcher had a sense of righteous indignation that was unmatched by any other person he had encountered.
"He never takes a step back and if he thinks he's been affronted he demands redress," the lawyer said.
He said Butcher was seen from a distance by the neighbours and it was not as if he went to the house armed, while the assault on his wife was at the lower end of the scale.
Judge John McDonald said Butcher had his firearms licence revoked in January 2007 because he was not considered a fit and proper person to hold one.
"In 2007 there were difficulties going on in your marriage, in part because of your drinking to excess, passing out most nights. It wasn't helped by the affair your wife was having with a 16-year-old neighbour," Judge McDonald said.
He said on a Monday in March 2007, Mrs Butcher went to the neighbours' home upset and crying.
She had her three children with her and told the neighbours her husband was "running around the farm with a gun and probably drunk".
The neighbour looked out of his back window and saw Butcher about 70m away on a ridge, carrying what looked like a shotgun.
Judge McDonald said the evidence of Butcher's wife at his trial - that what the neighbours said had happened that day didn't happen - was rejected by the jury.
"They must have come to the view that your wife perjured herself when giving evidence on your behalf," he said.
Judge McDonald said Butcher had a history of criminal offending that included a number of firearms offences and assault.
He sentenced Butcher to nine months' jail on the first firearm charge, three months' jail on the second and two months' jail for the assault on his wife, all to be served cumulatively, meaning a total of 14 months' imprisonment.