Retrial for man who shot thief

A Northland farmer who shot a thief on his property says his fight may cost him his farm.

Paul McIntyre faces a retrial over the shooting of Sam Hati, whom he caught stealing his quad bike on an October night in 2002.

McIntyre's lawyer, Barry Hart, had applied to the Solicitor-General to have the prosecution for recklessly discharging a shotgun stopped. However, the Solicitor-General yesterday turned down the request, saying the matter was for the court to decide.

McIntyre now faces selling his farm - which has been in his family for 100 years - to pay his legal fees.

In October, after a five-day trial in the Kaikohe District Court, McIntyre, 47, from Whangae, near Kawakawa, was acquitted on a charge of shooting and injuring Hati with reckless disregard for the safety of others.

The jury could not reach a verdict on an alternative charge, that McIntyre had discharged his shotgun without reasonable cause in a manner likely to endanger the safety of others.

The trial judge ordered a retrial on that charge, and with the Solicitor-General turning down the application for a stay, the matter will now be reheard in the Kaikohe District Court on April 11.

The charges arose after McIntyre caught Hati and cousins Ned and Ray Brown stealing his quad bike on his farm late at night on October 20, 2002. The three men later pleaded guilty to theft of the bike.

McIntyre's defence was that he was in fear of his life and had been trying to shoot out the left rear tyre of the ute the three men were fleeing in.

McIntyre said he was disappointed the application was denied, but it did not come as a great surprise.

"I never held any hope for anything other than another trial, really. That's the way the system works. I'm looking forward to clearing my name, but I will probably have to sell my farm to pay for it."

The farm had been in the family for almost 100 years and it would be sad to have to sell it, but that could be the only way to pay for his defence, he said.

The first trial is estimated to have cost more than $50,000, with about $20,000 of that coming from a fighting fund set up by Northland Federated Farmers, which is reinstating the fund to help McIntyre's defence in the retrial.

- NZPA