A man who knocked out a stranger’s teeth with knuckle-dusters had a cache of illegal firearms in his closet, a court has heard.
The court heard that about midnight, Whatarau parked opposite his victim in Broughton St, Gore, and approached him on the footpath.
The defendant, aggrieved over a traffic dispute, punched the stranger in the face with the knuckle-dusters.
With two teeth knocked out and a split lip, the man fled into a nearby property while his attacker stole two chainsaws from his ute.
In a search of the 29-year-old’s home four months later, police found the knuckle-dusters in a car parked in the driveway.
In his bedroom wardrobe they also found a Ruger .308 bolt action rifle, a Marlin 336W .30/30 lever-action rifle, a Remington 7mm bolt-action rifle and a Browning .308 Bar MK II rifle.
The police summary said two of the rifles were reported stolen 10 years ago.
Methamphetamine, ammunition, four glass meth pipes, scales, a cannabis pipe and a small clear container holding psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, were also found at the address.
A report before the court detailed some of the defendant’s background, including that his mother had been absent in his early years, leading to "feelings of abandonment".
With mention of this, the man appeared to become emotional in the dock.
The report noted he now had a good relationship with his father.
His father, Murray Kenneth Foreman, who was found not guilty of the 2004 murder of Hawke’s Bay farmer Jack Nicholas, was there to support his son at the back of the court.
The murder of Nicholas outside his Kaweka Ranges home remains unsolved.
In court, the defendant said he wished he had kept his hands to himself and called police.
"That is a good but belated sentiment," Judge Russell Walker said.
For the 15 charges, including injuring his victim and possessing the firearms and drugs, Whatarau was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
He was ordered to pay a $5500 reparation for his victim’s dental bills and the stolen items.
Judge Walker acknowledged the defendant’s father at the back of the court and that imprisonment was "not the outcome that you desire".
But, he said, given the seriousness of the violence, home detention was inappropriate.
ella.scott-fleming@odt.co.nz , PIJF court reporter
