KEY POINTS:
A 20-year-old Whakatane man, who has admitted shooting another man in the leg, has been denied bail, much to the displeasure of his heavily pregnant 16-year-old girlfriend sitting in the gallery.
Judge Louis Bidois denied a bail application made by Tyson Zane Bridger's lawyer Gene Tomlinson in Whakatane District Court yesterday. Bridger's girlfriend then argued the decision with him.
Bridger entered guilty pleas to six charges relating to an incident on December 9 when he retrieved a loaded .22 calibre pistol from the boot of his car and shot a man in the leg.
The charges were injuring with intent to injure, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of an offensive weapon and two of driving while disqualified. Police withdrew a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm.
From the public gallery, Bridger's girlfriend said she had been present and he didn't purposely shoot the man.
Judge Bidois disputed this, saying Bridger had pointed the gun at the man and the man had been shot in the leg.
"You shouldn't have been driving around with a loaded gun in your (car) boot," the judge said.
Bridger was remanded in custody for a pre-sentence report and sentence on January 28.
- NZPA
