Further teacher shooting charges 'complex'

Andrew Mears was contravening the terms of his Department of Conservation shooting permit when he shot Rosemary Ives while hunting in the dark. Photo / Christine Cornege

The Department of Conservation (DOC) says it will take several weeks to determine whether it will charge three members of a hunting party involved in a fatal shooting at a Turangi campsite last year.

Andrew Neville David Mears, 26, was sentenced on Wednesday to 2-1/2 years' jail for the manslaughter of Wellington schoolteacher Rosemary Ives and ordered to pay her partner $10,000 reparation.

Police said today they were unable to charge three other men who were part of the hunting party.

However, the men could face maximum penalties of up to 12 months jail or a $10,000 fine for breaching the Conservation Act.

DOC was investigating whether further charges may be laid in relation to the incident under the Conservation Act, DOC spokesman Rory Newsam said.

"There are some complex issues regarding permits for hunting on conservation land which need to be examined closely," he told NZPA.

"It's likely to take some weeks before a decision will be made and we can't comment further until then."

A hunter needs a permit to hunt on DOC land and hunting after dark is not permitted at all.

Detective Senior Sergeant Todd Pearce said the hunting party had been illegally deer at night in the Kaimanawa Forest Park during Labour weekend last October.

Miss Ives, 25, had been brushing her teeth when Mears mistook a light on her head for the eyes of a deer and shot and killed her.

Miss Ives' mother and the New Zealand Deerstalkers' Association (NZDA) have both criticised the lack of charges for Mears' companions.

"Unfortunately, even after a considerable amount of work, police are not able to charge the other three members of the group with any offence related to her death. This has been supported by a legal opinion from the Crown." Mr Pearce said.

However, the group had been on DOC land so could be charged with illegal hunting, he said.

Police were also in the process of revoking firearms licences held by two of the three men, Mr Pearce said.

- NZPA