The man at the centre of a police pursuit which led to an innocent man being shot dead has been jailed for at least eight years.
Stephen Hohepa McDonald, 50, admitted 23 charges in connection with a car chase across Auckland in January that ended soon after police accidentally shot dead teenage courier Halatau Naitoko, 17.
Mr Naitoko died from a police bullet to his chest after being caught in crossfire as McDonald tried to hijack a truck.
McDonald, who admitted charges including firing at police, possessing a firearm, aggravated robbery, and unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle, was sentenced to 13 years' jail, with a minimum non-parole period of eight years.
Justice Rodney Harrison said he took the starting point for McDonald's sentence at 14 to 20 years because he shot at police officers. But because of his guilty plea and his acknowledged remorse, the sentence was reduced to 13 years.
But he told McDonald that he alone was responsible for Mr Naitoko's death, not police.
"I have no doubt you are the person who is responsible for his death."
Justice Harrison told McDonald at 50 years of age he had an extensive criminal history of offending that stretched back to the Levin Youth Court in 1973.
"You have spent much of your life in penal institutions", and shown propensity for violent offending, Justice Harrison said.
Crown prosecutor Aaron Perkins said in sentencing that the officer who fired the shot had been devastated by Mr Naitoko's death.
McDonald's lawyer Roger Chambers said his client's distress was palpable when he was told Mr Naitoko had died and he pleaded guilty as soon as he knew what charges he faced.
Justice Harrison said there were several aggravating factors to the offending and that McDonald's actions had a profound impact on many lives.
Police decided not to lay charges against the officer who fired the fatal shot, and Justice Harrison said he agreed police were not to blame for Mr Naitoko's death.
The Naitoku family were not present because Mr Naitoko's stepfather's mother, Fineeva Teputepu, died suddenly on Sunday evening.
- NZ HERALD STAFF, NZPA
Motorway gunman jailed for at least eight years
Stephen McDonald. Photo / Supplied
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