The police investigation into a large-scale stock theft in the upper Clutha was completed but could be revisited if any fresh information came to light, one of the detectives who worked on the case said yesterday.
Dean Thomas Herd (38), a farm manager, of Motueka, was jailed for two years and four months after appearing in the Invercargill District Court this week for sentencing, in connection with the theft.
He had earlier admitted 32 charges of stealing stock and other farm items worth $335,000 from Criffel Deer Ltd, Criffel Station, or West Wanaka Station owner Grant Cochrane between January 1, 2005, and December 1, 2011. Asked for his reaction to the sentence, Detective Alan Lee said it would not be appropriate or professional for him to comment.
Two detectives had spent ''hundreds of hours'' on the case since 2011 and he praised the co-operation given by the rural community.
''The farming community in this has been great, outstanding in fact, to deal with, so we'd like to acknowledge the absolute support we've received. We've dealt with a wide range of people in the rural industry, whether it be truck firms, farmers and livestock firms; no matter what rural activity they've been involved in, they've been helpful,'' Det Lee said.
Criffel Deer Farm co-owner Mike Garnham told the Otago Daily Times on Thursday he believed other people as well as Herd must have been involved in the thefts.
In response to that comment, Det Lee said: ''If more people had been identified, then they would have been before the courts.''
Asked if the investigation was completed or ongoing, he said ''it's completed in respect to this case. However, if people have other information they can give us, we'd welcome that and revisit it, but at present, it's completed.''
''If anyone else knows something, we're happy to take that information and it can be done confidentially, if they want.''
The scale of the theft was unusual - ''certainly for Central Otago, it would be one of the bigger ones of this type'', Det Lee said. Herd was originally charged with Simon Robert Hawkins (30), of Wanaka. Mr Hawkins denied 22 charges of theft and was acquitted after a jury trial in Invercargill last month.
Approached by the ODT for comment yesterday on Herd' s sentencing, Mr Hawkins said, through his lawyer Ron Mansfield, he was grateful for the support he had received from his close-knit community. He loved Wanaka and was ''determined to move on from this event and will do so''. The appropriate sentence for Herd was for the court to determine, Mr Hawkins said.
''Given that Mr Herd sought to involve him and was caught lying many times at the trial to do so, it is hard to accept that he is remorseful or to have any sympathy for him,'' Mr Mansfield said on behalf of Mr Hawkins.
Mr Hawkins suspected others must have been involved in the thefts. However, he has no idea who they may be. Asked what advice he would give to anyone who found themselves in the same situation as him, Mr Hawkins said it was a classic case of being ''let down and betrayed by people who we thought we could trust''. Unfortunately, it made him trust people less as a result. Mr Herd's offending had had that impact on many people, Mr Mansfield said on behalf of Mr Hawkins.
''Wanaka, like many rural centres, is a place where people trade on their honesty and reputation. Mr Hawkins will continue to do that and the community will continue to enjoy that from him,'' Mr Mansfield said. Federated Farmers Central Otago high country chairman Andrew Paterson, of Matakanui Station, near Omakau, said the conviction and sentencing was good news for the farming industry.
''They need to throw the book at guys who do things like this.
''People who steal stock are almost as bad as those who steal your water.''
His opinion was that Herd's sentence was ''too light for what's he's done''.
''To act as a deterrent, it should've been harder. That's my personal opinion but I've talked to a couple of other farmers who also thought he should've got a harder sentence, '' Mr Paterson said.
