Man threatens to shoot victim with can of alcohol

A Whanganui man who threatened to shoot his victim with a can of alcohol may face a prison sentence.

Norman John Lister was convicted in the Whanganui District Court yesterday of threatening to kill and presenting an object that resembled a firearm.

The court heard that Lister was drinking with firends on New Year's Eve when people he did not know joined the party.

They drove him into town to buy more alcohol but left him behind leaving him to walk back to the party.

He was angry at having been left behind, his counsel Anna Brosnahan said.

Lister took a can of alcohol and fashioned it to look like a gun, and used it to threaten his victim.

Judge Dugald Matheson said it must have been a frightening experience for the victim who believed the weapon to be real.

Home detention was one sentencing option but was complicated by Lister residing at a local motor camp that was not suitable.

It was not Lister's first conviction that involved a weapon, the court heard. Lister is on bail for previous offending and "clearly" had an alcohol problem.

The judge remanded Lister to June 26 for a pre-sentence report and sentencing. Prison, home detention, community work and supervision were all options open to the court, Judge Matheson said.