The incident saw armed police descend on Wellington Hospital on 1 May. Photo: RNZ / John Gerritsen
A Black Power member who shot at a gang rival outside Wellington Regional Hospital - sending it into lockdown - has been jailed for two years and two months.
Shoshonee Rayne-Bou Nirvana Pullan-Whakarau, who was a first time offender, appeared in New Plymouth District Court for sentencing on firearms charges on Friday.
In May, the 22-year-old from Taranaki was staying at a Riddiford Street motel while visiting a family member who was on life support at the hospital.
A patched Mongrel Mob member, who also had a family member at the hospital, was staying at the same motel.
After an initial verbal incident between the two they were involved in an altercation with associates which involved Mongrel Mob members arming themselves with a knife and a machete.
Shortly after, the Mongrel Mob member and his associate left the motel and drove to the hospital where they parked near the front entrance.
Meanwhile, Pullan-Whakarau grabbed a shotgun from his room and together with his associates, drove to the hospital.
He drove the wrong way through the "pick up and drop off" lane in front of the hospital and then stopped a short distance from the Mongrel Mob member's vehicle.
Eventually Pullan-Whakarau pulled up about 5m from the man's car and raised the firearm, pointing it towards where he was seated.
Despite a family member attempting to stop him, Pullan-Whakarau fired a shot into the driver's door.
The Mongrel Mob member was uninjured but the outer panel of the door was punctured.
Pullan-Whakarau and his associates then drove off.
The incident sparked a large police response and caused the Wellington Regional Hospital to go into lockdown for a period.
In court today, Pullan-Whakarau's defence lawyer Nathan Bourke argued for a jail term of two years or less so home detention could be considered.
He said Pullan-Whakarau was "deeply and genuinely remorseful" and the offending was unlikely to be repeated.
Bourke said his client was a young father who had the support of a partner, a possible job offer and could still turn his life around.
Pullan-Whakarau had accepted responsibility for his offending which the defence counsel said had not been undertaken to further gang goals.
His client had attended restorative justice and had no breaches requiring court intervention during three months on electronically monitored bail.
"He's done everything asked of him," Bourke said.
Pullan-Whakarau had responded poorly to being threatened with a knife and a machete, he said, "but his victim cannot be seen as an innocent bystander".
Bourke likened his client's membership of Black Power to "a rite of passage for his family and everybody else was doing it" and that he was "motivated to leave" but honest enough to admit that would not be easy.
The pressures of gang life would increase for Pullan-Whakarau if a prison sentence was imposed, the lawyer said.
The police prosecutor argued for a starting point of four years jail.
He said the offending was premeditated because Pullan-Whakarau had got the long-barrelled shotgun from an associate following the initial verbal altercation with the Mongrel Mob member some days prior to the shooting.
Taking the shotgun and then discharging it in "a very public place" with lots of people around was "inherently dangerous".
The prosecutor said there was considerable concern about gangs in society and while Pullan-Whakarau may want to leave Black Power it was "pretty serious offending" for somebody who had just joined and spoke to the influence of gangs over those who did join.
Pullan-Whakarau also had three minor breaches of electronic bail that had not required a court appearance.
The police prosecutor also asked that Pullan-Whakarau, who did not have a gun licence, be prohibited from owning a firearm and be disqualified from driving, due to the use of a vehicle in the offending.
In sentencing, Judge Gregory Hikaka said he was convinced the offending was premeditated because Pullan-Whakarau had obtained the shotgun prior to the shooting and gone to retrieve it from his room the day he discharged it.
He said despite a family member attempting to stop him he had gone on to shoot at his rival's vehicle in a busy public place causing the hospital to go into lockdown "causing harm to people who needed to be there".
Judge Hikaka said the offending was clearly gang related which was an aggravating factor and to be seen "to be resolute" in the face of a rival gang was furthering Black Power objectives.
In the context of the concern over his family member's health Pullan-Whakarau had put gang priorities first, the judge said.
He was given credit for his youth, remorse, clean record and time on electronically-monitored bail before being jailed for two years and two months which Judge Hikaka said was the least restrictive sentence he could impose.
Pullan-Whakarau was also banned from owning a firearm and disqualified from driving for six months.
