Taranaki farmer pulls a gun on boy racers following months of frustration over illegal activity

A farmer plagued by hundreds of boy racers congregating and performing skids near his land decided to take matters into his own hands - so he grabbed a shotgun and fired it multiple times as he advanced on a group.

The armed standoff, which landed Matthew Michael John Turnbull in court this week, follows a growing frustration felt by many over the unrelenting issue with boy racers in New Plymouth.

There's been a death, injuries, court cases, damaged police vehicles and even a recent bylaw change as the decade-old problem refuses to subside.

Turnbull's resentment of the issue reached breaking point on February 26, after experiencing months of escalating boy racer activity near the intersection of Junction and Plantation Rds where he operates a dairy farm.

An irate Turnbull fired his shotgun as he ran down his driveway towards a group who had parked near his paddock on State Highway 3 and were allegedly throwing bottles at his bull.

The intersection of Junction and Plantation Rds in New Plymouth has become a popular spot for boy racer activity. Photo / Tara Shaskey

Suspecting they had also been a part of the more than 200 people who were in the area the night before watching 80 cars perform burnouts and skids, he fired a second shot into the air.

As the 46-year-old crossed the road and approached the group, he fired a third shot, this time at the ground, while demanding to know who had been doing skids.

One of them said they "didn't know" as Turnbull briefly aimed the gun at the male's upper torso.

He then lowered the firearm and referred to himself and others in the neighbourhood "shooting whoever was doing the skids".

During the mass gatherings, there is often rubbish and empty alcohol bottles thrown into Turnbull's paddocks where his stock grazes and he has called the police several times for help with the issue.

Skids and burnouts are often performed near the intersection. Photo / Tara Shaskey

The night before the armed incident, police attended the area and reported hundreds were gathered to watch the illegal street event.

There were disorderly and intoxicated people, fights were breaking out and a police vehicle was damaged, a police summary of facts stated.

The next day the group of five returned to the scene, later telling police they were there to clean up rubbish from the car meet, when Turnbull advanced on them.

No one was injured but the group was left shaken, and Turnbull was charged by police with reckless discharge of a firearm and presenting a firearm at a person.

He did not respond to Open Justice's request for an interview, but at his sentencing in New Plymouth District Court this week it was made clear his offending was out of character and had stemmed from the provocation of the boy racer activities in his area.

It's an issue that has troubled the wider district for more than a decade and led to the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) passing a bylaw last month, at the request of Police, banning light vehicles from 10pm to 5am, seven days a week, from stretches of Centennial Dr, a popular spot for boy racers.

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A similar bylaw was passed by NPDC in 2009 relating to industrial roads in Bell Block, north of central New Plymouth, to tackle the same problem in that area.

It was around that time the issue rose to prominence locally with a number of high-profile incidents spotlighting the impact of boy racer activities, which NPDC's report on the matter described as dangerous driving, noise, fuel spillages, littering, aggressive behaviour and arson.

In 2007, 19-year-old Cain Longstaff was a bystander at a boy racer meet on Centennial Dr when he was struck and killed by a car in the area. The driver was sentenced to four months' home detention.

Around the same time Longstaff was killed, a 23-year-old man was stabbed at a gathering of up to 200 car enthusiasts in Bell Block.

More recently, on October 23 last year, a female bystander at a car meet on Centennial Dr was crushed between two cars after the driver of one of the vehicles lost control while performing a "doughnut". Two police cars were damaged when officers attended the scene.

Cain Longstaff, 19, was killed in a boy racer-related incident in New Plymouth in 2007. Photo / File

The driver responsible for the girl's injuries was later discharged without conviction.

At Turnbull's sentencing, Judge Phillip Cooper said the boy racer activity was continuing despite the efforts of police to bring it to an end.

The court was given a number of letters describing the impact the activity had on the community and on Turnbull and his family.

Judge Cooper sympathised with Turnbull.

"It's obvious that this offending is completely out of character for you and is driven by the extreme frustration that you have felt as a result of the activity of these boy racers that descend on the area and carry out what can be described as a completely disruptive and dangerous activity," he said.

Turnbull was fined $1000 and a forfeiture order was made for the shotgun.

Matthew Michael John Turnbull was fined when he appeared in New Plymouth District Court this week. Photo / Tara Shaskey

Police failed to respond to Open Justice's questions concerning the effect the bylaws have had on boy racer activity in New Plymouth and whether police would request NPDC to apply the boy racer bylaw to other areas in the district.

Questions around the number of police call-outs and prosecutions related to street racing activity also went unanswered.

But an NPDC spokesperson was able to say the council had received 14 complaints in the past two years about issues involving boy racers on Centennial Dr alone.

The council was not considering applying the bylaw to any other areas "at this stage", they said.