Murder team may be cut

Police are expected to consider reducing the size of the Jack Nicholas homicide inquiry team as pressure builds to return staff to normal duties.

Mr Nicholas was shot dead outside his isolated farm homestead at Puketitiri, Hawkes Bay, last August.

Detective Inspector Godfrey Watson, who heads the inquiry, said yesterday that 10 to 12 officers were constantly involved in the hunt for the killer.

The team includes Napier CIB head Detective Senior Sergeant Bill Gregory and other detectives.

The loss of significant numbers of staff from other day-to-day duties has affected the branch's capability to respond to incidents.

But the likely withdrawal of staff to return to regular duties did not mean a scaling-down of the inquiry, said Mr Watson.

"We still think it's worth putting in the effort."

Asked about how close police thought they were to a firm suspect or motive, he said there were a number of possibilities.

A detective's visit to a Hawkes Bay Today office, seeking information on firearms advertisements and published stories on the rabbit calicivirus, was part of the inquiry, said Mr Watson.

He declined to comment on whether the inquiry included investigations overseas.

* A man was yesterday convicted and sentenced to 100 hours of community work on firearms charges laid by the team investigating Mr Nicholas' murder.

Murray Kenneth Foreman, 48, a machine operator, of Haumoana near Hastings, pleaded guilty to three charges from last November 24 of unlawfully possessing three rifles and 18 rounds of ammunition.

He was jointly charged in the Napier District Court on one of the counts, unlawfully possessing a .308 rifle, with Deon Warwick Betty, 33, also of Haumoana.

Betty entered no plea and was remanded to reappear on April 20.

Judge Tony Adeane said Foreman had three previous convictions for firearms offences, the last being in 1994.

- NZPA