‘Tragic’ circumstances: Flatmate’s gun allegedly used by Hamilton murder-accused Jack Hargreaves

Jack Hargreaves, here pictured in the High Court at Hamilton, has been charged with the murder of his brother, Joshua. Photo / RNZ

The flatmate of a man accused of fatally shooting his brother has been sentenced after one of his firearms was allegedly used in the killing.

Jack William Hargreaves is charged with the murder of his brother, Joshua, and the attempted theft of a car shortly after the alleged incident on July 9, last year.

Police were called to the Bellmont Ave, Chartwell, house, where they found the 31-year-old dead.

A search for Hargreaves began immediately and included the use of the Eagle helicopter.

A motorist had stopped to pick him up as he hitchhiked on Gordonton Rd.

It’s alleged he then stole the motorist’s car.

The motorist was left shaken but uninjured.

Police say that at 12.40am, the police dog unit spotted the stolen car and pursued it north to Ngāruawāhia, where road spikes were deployed.

The car came to a stop in Ngāruawāhia, and Hargreaves was arrested.

Hargreaves has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has a trial scheduled for February 2028.

‘Worst outcome imaginable’

The gun allegedly used by Hargreaves belonged to his flatmate, who appeared in the Hamilton District Court this week, where he was sentenced on three charges of unlawful possession of a firearm.

His counsel, Bolivia Newton, said the outcome was “the worst one imaginable”, but told the court that the firearm used in the alleged murder had been stored in a locked cabinet.

The flatmate had been described as a “good family man, and valued member of his car club, well-loved and a good person and good father, despite the immense difficulties he has faced”.

He had not appeared in court before.

Newton pushed for an end sentence of supervision, which was unusual for these types of charges, “but this is a highly unusual case”, she submitted.

“The overall circumstances of this case and the features personal to [the defendant] can be described as tragic.

“For those reasons, it appears a sentence of supervision is appropriate and available.”

Judge David Cameron agreed that it was an unusual case.

The flatmate didn’t hold a firearm licence, while the firearms themselves – a rifle with a silencer, a pump action shotgun, and a cut-down double-barrelled shotgun – had been passed down to him after his father died in 2024.

He had been assessed as being at a low risk of reoffending.

Judge Cameron agreed that supervision was appropriate and handed down a sentence of nine months.

He also ordered the destruction of the firearms and issued the defendant a Firearms Prohibition Order.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.