Bid to pervert course of justice by making menacing calls

A Dunedin man was caught attempting to pervert the course of justice by making threatening phone calls from prison, a court has heard.

At 11am on April 10, Gary Matthew Angus, 44, and an associate were in a vehicle, armed with an imitation firearm, the Dunedin District Court heard this week.

They had one goal in mind — to intimidate.

As a couple attempted to park their car at home the two men, who had been waiting for them, blocked them in.

Angus quickly got out and pointed the starter pistol at the victims, firing three blank rounds before fleeing the scene.

"There is no doubt the complainants would have been frightened," counsel John Westgate said.

While in custody, Angus attempted to pervert the course of justice by once again intimidating the victims.

Using the prison phone, he enlisted the help of more associates, who began pressuring the victims to withdraw their police statements.

All phone calls at the correctional facility are recorded, meaning the evidence against Angus was overwhelming.

Over the space of nine days the man made multiple phone calls to check the progress of his plan.

He instructed his associate to visit the victims and order them to "reverse" their statements or he would sue them for trespassing, breaking and entering, wilful damage and fraud.

"Given the number of calls made by you, clearly there was premeditation," the judge said.

The victim who was shot at provided a statement to the court, detailing the "immense psychological effects" he had experienced since the incident.

Angus was convicted of possessing an offensive weapon and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

He was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment.