A 37-year-old Hamilton man, Danny Patrick Livingstone, fired an air pistol at a dog and its owner’s partner in a supermarket car park earlier this year, after the dog barked at him, The New Zealand Herald reports.
Livingstone has been sentenced to eight months in jail.
Livingstone shot the dog, Brownie, in the head and fired at the owner’s partner in the arm, but neither sustained serious injuries. The incident occurred outside Pak’nSave Clarence St, where Brownie was sitting next to the owner’s nine-year-old son in a parked car, Herald reported.
According to court records, Livingstone had concealed a blue and clear air pistol down his pants when he walked past the vehicle on May 4 at 11.45am. Brownie barked at him, prompting him to shoot the dog in the head, causing her to bark in distress.
The owner and her partner confronted Livingstone, leading to a heated argument during which he shot the partner twice in his right arm, according to Herald. Livingstone then fled on foot toward Grantham St, where he was arrested. Police later found the air pistol and a supply of copper-coated pellets in his backpack.
Livingstone appeared in the Hamilton District Court for sentencing on charges of cruelty to an animal and assault with a firearm. He had previously accepted a sentence indication.
Judge Noel Cocurullo took a starting point of 10 months’ imprisonment, applied a 5% uplift for Livingstone’s history, and then reduced the term by 20% for his guilty plea, resulting in an eight-month sentence. The judge noted that Livingstone would be released soon, having effectively served his time.
Livingstone declined to comment at the time of the incident.