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A man found with a cache of weapons in preparation for the Covid-19 pandemic, told police he was "concerned for the future of the country".
Jared Joseph Coory was today handed a "trust-based sentence" and ordered to pay $3000 to a rescue helicopter trust.
Coory, a keen hunter had a firearms licence, but not for the type of guns police found in his home in the Tasman District in June this year.
He could have gone to prison for firearms charges that a judge described as "extremely concerning", but was instead sentenced to six months' non-electronically monitored community detention.
Coory admitted a charge of unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm, three charges of unlawfully possessing a firearm and unlawful possession of a prohibited firearms magazine.
A man sentenced on illegal firearms charges has been ordered to pay $3000 to his local helicopter rescue trust. Photo / Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter
He gained a firearms licence in 2009 but by the end of 2021 he had started making "unusual" purchases.
Between October 2021 and May this year the police summary showed Coory had bought five Alfa Carbine firearms, which were known to be easily modified into a pistol by cutting the stock and barrel on the weapon.
Police searched his house in June and found what appeared to be parts of a Denix replica firearm under a bed in a spare room.
Police said the firearm had been converted into a fully automatic Sten gun of the type used in World War II.
Police also found in a bedside drawer in Coory's bedroom, a loaded six-round Alfa Carbine firearm which had had the serial number filed off, and which had been cut down into a pistol by modifying the length of the stock and barrel.
The pistol had five rounds in the chamber and a round in the spout.
In a desk of the office at Coory's home, police found a small, hand-sized pistol loaded with a full 10-round magazine.
Police said closer inspection appeared to show it had previously been a blank pistol, modified to fire ammunition.
After some discussion, Coory finally gave police the access code to his gun safe, where they found a "pen", modified to enable it to fire short .22 rounds - one of which was in the chamber of the pen.
Seven prohibited firearms magazines were also found on the property, two of which appeared to have been made on a 3D printer, and one with the word "Sten" written on it in marker pen.
While Coory wouldn't tell police about why he had the pistols, he did say he had bought the Alfa Carbines because he was "concerned about the future of the country".
He told police he "kind of expected the visit" as when the pandemic hit, he had bought a lot of firearms.
Judge Jo Rielly said in sentencing him today that an aggravating feature was the number of operational firearms found, including one which was prohibited, two that were loaded and concealed in circumstances where there was a locked gun safe in the house.
Judge Rielly did not accept Coory's argument he was "going out to use them that day", because of where the firearms were found.
She said a mitigating factor was that he did have a firearms licence, and while he did not have one relevant to one of the weapons for which he was charged, he was at least in the process of getting the appropriate endorsement.
Judge Rielly said an appropriate starting point for sentence was 26 months in prison – although it could have been "a lot higher", but credit was given for Coory's guilty pleas, and the hard-working life the 47-year-old had lived as a skilled tradesman.
She said there stood to be significant repercussions for Coory, and sadly for his wife, for whom the greatest penalty would be the barrier to adopting a long-awaited child.
"You have made a big mistake because it seems your hobby got out of control.
"You have really let yourself down, but I can't let it define the rest of your life," Judge Rielly said.
