The eye surgeon, the red Porsche and the 200 guns

Dr Ian Dallison's former home in Helmores Lane, Fendalton. Photo / George Heard

Tomorrow Dr Ian Dallison will be sentenced for attempting to murder his former landlord. Sam Sherwood reports on the man with 200 guns.

From the road Dr Ian Dallison’s former home looks the least impressive alongside his neighbours on one of Christchurch’s most elite streets.

The 390sqm home, built in the 1970s, sits on a large 1040sq m section on Helmores Lane, Fendalton.

Despite its appearance from the outside, it’s what was kept inside that Dallison liked to show off best.

For years Dallison, a keen hunter who had been on a number of shooting safaris, had been collecting guns he housed in what was known as a gun room.

Inside the room were dozens of guns, including a Gatling machine gun, and several swords. There were stuffed birds, and mounted heads of animals including a ram, a goat and a stag in the room and throughout the house.

A source told the Herald about being given a tour of the room by Dallison. They described the room as “unbelievable”.

“We were like ‘holy heck!’. He was proud of the extent of the range he had and the history of them. It was like someone showing you their wine collection, and telling you about their vintage.”

Christchurch eye surgeon Ian Dallison. Photo / Supplied

The Herald understands there were about 200 guns in the house in total, many of which were unsecured. Ammunition was also found throughout the property.

Dallison, who said in a since removed bio he liked the “odd Pinot”, had an impressive wine cellar and was known to have kept quality whisky and cigars.

He also liked his cars and had a red Porsche and a Ferrari.

Dallison last left his home in his red Porsche on August 4 last year at about 6.45pm. Earlier that day, about 1.40pm he had been adjudicated bankrupt on an application by his former landlord Alberto Ceccarelli, 75, and Adam Armstrong, who owned a commercial building that Dallison previously leased.

The order related to $247,000, most of which was rent owed to the pair.

Inside Dallison’s car were nine firearms and 167 rounds of ammunition. The guns included a loaded Ruger semi-automatic pistol, a loaded Smith & Wesson revolver, a Sterling Model 300 handgun, an Accelerator Model handgun, a Ruger revolver, and a double-barrelled derringer handgun.

He also had a Maglite torch shotgun loaded with three 410-shotgun rounds, two mag pen guns, one with a silencer and three Ruger 10/22 magazines.

The previous day Dallison used his laptop to access Google Maps. He scrolled the map to the South Island and zoomed in on Lyttelton. He then zoomed in and scrolled around the town toward St David St and zoomed in again on Ceccarelli’s home. He switched the default map view to satellite view and zoomed in and out and centred on the address. He then switched to street view and panned to the house to get a good look before zooming out to the street.

That evening his cell phone polled in the suburb where Ceccarelli lived with his wife, indicating he was scoping their address.

On this way to Lyttelton on August 4, Dallison stopped to fill $40 of fuel in his Porsche and then stopped a second time to purchase batteries for the Maglite torch gun.

Dallison parked his car around the corner from Ceccarelli’s home, where he lived with his wife.

He inserted the two batteries into the Maglite torch shotgun. The torch was either already loaded with one shotgun round or it was loaded at that time. Inserting the two batteries enabled it to be used as both a torch and a shotgun. The remaining two rounds were put into his jacket pocket.

He armed himself with the loaded Ruger .22 calibre semi-automatic pistol, and a spare magazine with 10 rounds in his pocket and walked to their home.

He entered the house at about 7.38pm and walked through the main door at the rear of the house into the lounge and to the entrance of the kitchen, where the couple were sitting at their dinner table.

Before they realised he was present he fired the gun at Ceccarelli. The round narrowly missed his head, lodging itself in the door frame over his right shoulder.

Ceccarelli and his wife got up and rushed him. A violent struggle ensued as they attempted to remove the pistol from his grip.

Dallison and the couple fell to the ground and continued to wrestle in the lounge, moving across the floor.

Dallison used his finger to gouge Ceccarelli’s right eye and forced the butt of the pistol into the side of his neck.

As Ceccarelli’s wife attempted to stand up, Dallison pinned her on the ground with the weight of his body and struck her on the back of her head four or five times using the butt of the pistol, concussing her.

Neighbours heard screaming and entered the home, restraining Dallison. This allowed Ceccarelli to remove the pistol from Dallison’s grip.

Dallison was restrained on the ground until police arrived.

The couple suffered serious injuries. Ceccarelli’s wife suffered a concussion and dizziness which affected her for several days. There was significant bleeding from her head injuries, and the wounds caused her agony when attempting to lay her head down to sleep.

As a result of having his eye gouged, Ceccarelli suffered significant damage to his vision and is being treated by a neuro-ophthalmologist.

The trauma to his eye resulted in eye misalignment, causing it to deviate outward as well as an inability to move his eye down and in toward the nose. The injury results in double vision and difficulties with depth perception, affecting his ability to work, read, type and exercise. It was unknown if the damage was permanent.

Ceccarelli also received bruising and scratches to the left side of his neck, a cut to the base of his right thumb and a cut lip.

Dallison declined to participate in an interview but told police at the scene that when he pulled the trigger of his pistol, it jammed.

Police sought an order for the destruction of the firearms upon his conviction.

Dallison’s bankruptcy matter was dealt with at an earlier hearing in the High Court before Associate Judge Dale Lester.

Judge Lester granted Dallison’s application for an annulment of his bankruptcy.

The creditors had been paid in full, and Dallison’s home on Helmores Lane, Fendalton, was sold in January for $2.95 million.

In December, Dallison pleaded guilty to attempting to murder Ceccarelli as well as one charge of wounding with intent to injure his wife. He will be sentenced tomorrow.

The Medical Council of New Zealand earlier confirmed that upon learning of the charges they asked him to cease practice. Dallison then “voluntarily surrended” his practicing certificate.

Medical Council of New Zealand chair Dr Curtis Walker said the council’s primary focus was to protect the health and safety of the public by ensuring doctors were “competent and fit to practise”.

“Whenever any registered doctor is convicted of an offence with a maximum penalty of three months’ imprisonment or more, the Council must follow a statutory process to assess whether that doctor is fit to practise. This process will be followed with Dr Dallison [as it is with any doctor convicted of a serious crime].”