Website of the Yearnzherald.co.nz's Edward Gay reports live from day three of the inquest into the Napier gun siege.
14.38: The police officers shot by Napier gunman Jan Molenaar did not take all precautions but could not have known how Molenaar was going to react, says the coroner.
Coroner David Crerar has closed the inquest into the shooting of
Senior Constable Len Snee and Molenaar.
He has reserved his decision but closed the inquest by saying he had
"some concerns as to the planning and execution of the search warrant"
carried out by police at Molenaar's home on May 7 last year.
"But Jan Molenaar was unpredictable and the outcomes could not have
been known by Len Snee, Senior Constable Bruce Miller and Grant
Diver," Mr Crerar said.
He also thanked the families of Mr Snee and Molenaar who had been
present over the last three days.
"I send my condolences to the families of Jan Molenaar and Len Snee. I
know it is awful for you to have to relive the events over the last
few days," Mr Crerar said.
13.15: There was no way of knowing that Molenaar was a "smouldering fire, waiting to burst into flame", police say.
Detective Superintendent Rod Drew said: "Those that knew him best -
his partner Delwyn Keefe and family, had no idea."
He is giving evidence at the inquest into the shooting of Senior
Constable Len Snee and Napier gunman Jan Molenaar.
Mr Drew said some friends of Molenaar knew about his arsenal of
weapons and his plans to "go out with a bang" if his drug dealing was
ever found out by police.
He said the police officers shot by Molenaar were not wearing stab-proof vests and had not told police central communications about what they were doing.
However, that had no bearing on their injuries, he said.
Mr Drew said Molenaar was 51 years old and had a very limited criminal
record. His last criminal conviction was in 1979 with a charge of
theft as a servant.
But Molenaar's reaction on May 7 last year was irrational and totally out of proportion.
13.15: Napier gunman Jan Molenaar had 17 guns, including a rocket launcher tube from the military.
Detective Superintendent Rod Drew said the rocket launcher tube was
discarded by the Army but there is information publicly available on how to make rockets.
Mr Drew said an Army thunderflash bomb, used to simulate mortar fire,
was also found in Molenaar's home, as well as home made bombs that
included make-shift bombs with nails and screws.
He said police found 129 spent cartridges with 3174 live rounds.
Mr Drew said police also found notes that Molenaar left. One that has
previously not been read out in court and found on a cartridge box
said: "You make life hard, you get hard people. To the death."
13.10: Police made about 300 calls to the home of Napier gunman Jan Molenaar during the siege in Napier last year.
Detective Superintendent Rod Drew said only three of the calls did not come from police.
He said it took 132 phone calls before Molenaar picked up and Molenaar
answered the phone 23 times.
He told the inquest into the shooting of Senior Constable Len Snee and
Molenaar that police wanted Molenaar to come out safely.
"He said he had gone too far and did not want to go to prison," Mr Drew said.
13.00: Napier gunman Jan Molenaar put a hole the size of a saucer in his neighbour's wall shortly after Senior Constable Len Snee was shot dead.
Detective Superintendent Rod Drew is giving evidence at the inquest of
Mr Snee and Molenaar.
He said some neighbours were evacuated while others stayed put, holed
up in their homes for two days.
Mr Drew has also gone into detail about the experience of Armed
Offenders Squad members.
One of those is known as A9 to keep his identity secret.
A9 was armed with a colt rifle and was positioned on Molenaar's
neighbouring property where he could see a partially opened door.
Mr Drew said A9 saw about 30cm of a thick black barrel appear from the
door and take aim at an area where A9 knew other police were in
position.
"He fired two rounds at the door," Mr Drew said.
One shot went into the centre of the door while another lodged itself near the door handle.
Mr Drew said A9 was not sure if Molenaar had been hit but after the
shots from police, Molenaar did not try to take "aimed shots".
12.48: The policeman in charge of a shooting on Napier gunman Jan Molenaar's road has said Molenaar was not the main suspect.
Detective Sergeant Emmet Lynch said he investigated a shooting that
took place in 2003, before the shooting of Senior Constable
Len Snee and the suicide of Molenaar.
He said a man was shot at as he stood in the doorway of his home only
houses away from Molenaar's home.
Two shots were fired: one hit the door jamb above the man's head and
the second went through the doorway and into the lounge room.
A friend of Molenaar, Tony Moore, has previously told the court that
police knew it was Molenaar who fired the shots but did nothing.
Mr Lynch said he took a rifle and rifle sight to the street and said
the person who fired the shots could have been in the nearby botanical
gardens, cemetery or houses including Molenaar's.
"There was only one suspect that we focused on during the enquiry and
that gentleman was nominated by the complainant," Mr Lynch said.
He said this man was not Molenaar, although police subsequently
received information that it could have been Molenaar.
Coroner David Crerar asked if there was enough information on
Molenaar's involvement at the time to "red flag" his property to act
as a warning for any future police inquiries.
Mr Lynch said there was not.
11.18: Jan Molenaar was shot by police but the bullets likely hit body armour that the gunman was wearing, a friend of Molenaar said.
Tony Moore said he spoke to Molenaar on the phone during the siege that lasted two days in Napier last May.
Mr Moore said Molenaar told him on the phone that he had been shot twice by police.
"The way he was implying, there was no question he had been struck," Mr Moore said.
He said Molenaar was laughing and he believes the bullets may have struck some kind of body armour that Molenaar had which consisted of a steel plate.
Previous evidence from police said that only two shots were fired at Molenaar and the holes were found in a door frame at Molenaar's home.
According to evidence from forensic scientist Gerhard Wevers yesterday, Molenaar had a single self inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Lawyer Russell Collins has questioned Mr Moore's media interviews that he had given shortly after the shooting last year.
Mr Collins said Mr Moore told media that Molenaar had said two police officers that had visited two weeks before the shooting were "nearly dead cops".
Mr Collins asked if Molenaar had been in touch with Mr Moore between the two incidents.
Mr Moore said it could be the case but he can't recall if it was Molenaar or Molenaar's partner Delwyn Keefe.
"I was under a stressful situation at the time and maybe I put in some extra at the time," Mr Moore said.
The inquest has adjourned to allow Mr Collins to play the interview to Mr Moore and "refresh his memory".
10.54: A friend of Napier gunman Jan Molenaar has told a court that shots were fired from Molenaar's house before last May but police did not investigate.
Tony Moore has given evidence at the inquest into the shooting of Senior Constable Len Snee and Molenaar.
Mr Moore said there were shots fired from Molenaar's house at a neighbour's house in 2003.
He said police did not follow the incident up and as a result, Molenaar believed he had a "green light".
"There was no warrant issued but there was the potential at the time for something to go wrong. Something should have been done," Mr Moore said.
He said police knew who Molenaar was and "knew what he would do in a situation".
Mr Moore also questioned how police could allow Molenaar to keep his guns even though he had surrendered his fire arms license.
He said Molenaar told police that he had given at least one gun to another collector but police did not check up.
"He was importing large capacity of magazines and plastic grips to turn firearms into military style weapons," Mr Moore said.
He said Molenaar's first two shipments went through customs but the third was seized. Mr Moore questioned why police did not follow up on the incident.
