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A judge has warned a teenager who shot two schoolgirls with an airgun that he will need to come up with a "very substantial reparation offer" if he wants to stay out of jail.
In Tauranga District Court today, Judge Thomas Ingram also said Te Morehu Enoka should earn the money himself, not take it from family members.
The 18-year-old Te Puke forestry worker pleaded guilty last month to discharging an airgun with reckless disregard for the safety of others.
He bought the P-23 combat pistol "on impulse" from a sports store, the court was told.
Three hours later, on April 14, he fired pellets from his car as he passed two 14-year-old girls walking home from school.
One victim was hit near the temple, narrowly missing her eye. Her friend was struck on the hand by another pellet.
As passers-by tended the bleeding girls on the roadside, Enoka drove by again and took more pot shots.
Crown prosecutor Catherine Howard said the schoolgirls were even more vulnerable the second time and other people, including a woman holding a baby, were also put in danger.
Enoka was before the judge for sentencing and Ms Howard made submissions for a prison term. Although the airgun was not a lethal weapon it had the potential to cause serious injury, she said.
Lawyer Bill Lawson sought community detention for his client, saying Enoka was now working hard and was well-regarded by his boss.
Mr Lawson handed up a written apology to the girls.
Enoka was not a sophisticated man, he said. "But in his own simple way he wants that (letter) passed on to the victims."
The shootings had been an aberration after his client - who had no propensity to commit violent crime - had been drinking. The poor behaviour "appears to be rooted in alcohol," Mr Lawson said.
However, his client was now receiving counselling for that and other personal problems.
"I think we are a long way short of being in a position to deal with you today," Judge Ingram said.
He gave Enoka the choice of prison or "making a real effort." That included fronting up to the victims and their families at a restorative justice meeting to say how sorry he was, plus "putting his hand in his pocket and paying up."
Sentencing was postponed until September 17 and the defendant further remanded on bail. Judge Ingram called for a report looking at home detention and community detention options.
- NZPA
