Parole denied for pair who stole weapons from house

Scott Trotter, who stole an arsenal from a Dunedin home will remain in jail for at least another year. Photo / Rob Kidd

Two men who posed as glaziers to burgle the home of a Dunedin pistol club member and make off with a cache of weapons have been denied parole.

During his hearing at the Otago Corrections Facility this month, Scott Alexander Trotter said the bulk of the weapons — which police never located — were thrown in the sea when he "realised the gravity" of what he had done.

But several of the firearms found their way into the hands of gang members, thanks to Trotter's links with the criminal underworld.

He was a member of the Road Knights before leaving seven years ago to become a personal trainer, the Parole Board heard.

However, when he found himself with 28 firearms and more than 22,000 rounds of ammunition after the October 2016 burglary, he made a few calls.

Hell's Angels and Bandidos soon arrived in Dunedin, and several members of the latter gang were snared in the police investigation.

Trotter was jailed for nearly four and a-half years and his co-defendant Raymond Jason Mosley (40) was given four years, four months.
The Parole Board noted Trotter's criminal history, stretching back to 1992, which involved violence, dishonesty and drug offences.

He had stayed out of trouble for five years from 2011, before breaking up with his girlfriend.

"The wheels fell off again for Mr Trotter," panel convener Kathryn Snook said.

"And he went back to using drugs."

The inmate spoke to the board at the hearing about the benefits of undertaking the Medium Intensity Rehabilitation Programme.

"He said that he is learning some strategies ... to help him deal with situations when things go wrong," the board's decision said.

Trotter said he felt more composed since being imprisoned and was committed to completing the Drug Treatment Programme (DTP).

Ms Snook also noted Mosley's lengthy rap sheet but this was only his second stint behind bars.

The prisoner picked up disciplinary infractions early in his sentence but the board heard things had improved since then.

"Since that time Mr Mosley has done well. He is described as polite to staff and received a good report from the officer at the hearing today," Ms Snook said.

Mosley said he had been using drugs since the age of 14 and, like Trotter, was waiting to enter the DTP.He had proposed to live with his partner of more than 20 years on release but she had also been incarcerated recently.

"Mr Mosley has work to do to reduce his risk of reoffending, however, he is on the right track," Ms Snook said.

Both men will next be seen by the Parole Board in a year.

They each have a sentence end date in 2021.