Sonny Temaire Edwards has been sentenced in New Plymouth District Court for an armed standoff he had with police in Stratford on March 27, 2023. Composite Photo: Stratford Press/Supplied
A man fleeing police shot at a patrol car before staring down the barrel of his gun, aiming it at an officer and giving a menacing warning.
“F*** off or I will shoot you,” Sonny Temaire Edwards shouted.
Shortly after, the gunman fled to a nearby Taranaki address, where he barricaded himself for the following 14 hours.
As negotiations for his surrender played out, he shot up the house, pointed his firearm at police, and avoided shots fired in his direction.
Edwards, now 34, appeared in New Plymouth District Court today for sentencing on nine charges relating to the two-day event, which his lawyer said could have easily ended with someone being killed.
The lead-up to the siege began on March 26 last year when Edwards, a suspended driver, was seen driving by police in Stratford.
As he drove away from an address, he was followed by a patrol car to the end of the street, which was a no exit.
Edwards accelerated aggressively, did a U-turn and drove toward the officer.
The officer turned on his lights and moved his vehicle out of the way before pursuing Edwards. The chase was soon abandoned.
He made his way south and the following day, at 6.18pm, was seen driving in Fielding, before making his way to a petrol station in Whanganui and then back to Taranaki.
Edwards had with him a sawn-off Magnum shotgun and six rounds of ammunition.
At 10.20pm, police spotted him travelling on State Highway 3 in Eltham and another pursuit began.
Edwards drove at high speeds and at times crossed the centre line and drove on the wrong side of the road.
His vehicle was spiked twice during the chase and he eventually came to a stop in Stratford.
Edwards pointed his shotgun out his window and fired one shot in the direction of the leading police vehicle then continued to wave the firearm.
He got out of his car with the gun, held it to his shoulder, and looked down the barrel while aiming it in the direction of a police officer who was still in the driver’s seat of his patrol car, stopped no more than 15 metres from Edwards.
The lone constable could not reverse due to the positions of the other patrol vehicles. The situation remained frozen for a few seconds, leaving the constable fearing for his life.
“F*** off or I’ll shoot you,” Edwards shouted.
All officers reversed their vehicles backwards to put distance between themselves and Edwards.
He got back in his car and drove slowly to the Stratford town centre while weaving across the centre line.
Edwards eventually abandoned his vehicle and ran to an associate’s home on Achilles St, where he was later found by armed police with a male and female occupant of the home.
At 12.33am, the house was surrounded by police, who appealed for him to surrender.
The male occupant left the property but Edwards closed the door behind, securing himself in the house with the female.
About 10 minutes later, the woman ran from the property screaming: “He’s shooting”.
Edwards had fired shots into the kitchen ceiling and roof space, and then turned his attention to police.
He stood at the window and pointed the gun in the direction of an officer at the corner of the section.
That officer fired two shots toward Edwards, causing him to retreat from the window and back into the house.
However, he approached the window a second time and again pointed his gun in the direction of the same officer.
That officer, again, fired a shot towards Edwards.
Throughout the day, tear gas was fired into the house as a police negotiation team worked to bring the siege to an end.
Edwards surrendered about 3pm and was taken into custody.
During the stand-off, schools in the area went into lockdown, some residents were asked to leave their homes, and a part of State Highway 3 was closed.
Family and friends of Edwards had gathered at the scene and were communicating with him as it unfolded.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has since found the officer was justified in shooting at Edwards and police management of the incident was satisfactory.
In court, defence lawyer Paul Keegan said Edwards was remorseful. He referred to a presentence report that stated Edwards admitted at the time of the offending, he was stressed, using meth, and “doing dumb s***”, and that the situation had got out of hand.
The report stated Edwards took full responsibility for his actions and was impacted greatly by the thought somebody could have been killed through his reckless actions.
“And somebody, I acknowledge, absolutely could have been killed, including him or any of these police officers involved,” Keegan said.
Crown prosecutor Rebekah Hicklin said at the time of the offending, Edwards was serving a sentence of supervision for assaulting and resisting police.
“He’d been given a rehabilitative sentence for that yet he went on to obtain a firearm and shoot at police.”
Judge Winter described Edwards’ offending over the two days as significant, serious and dangerous.
He said it involved a high degree of premeditation and Edwards had put the public’s safety at risk by using the firearm in residential areas and through his dangerous driving.
He said deterrence had to be a major consideration in his sentencing.
However, Judge Winter said he had also read “a lot” of material about Edwards, which detailed how he had suffered a “profound depth of deprivation” growing up.
Edwards, from Whanganui, had a childhood marred by extreme violence, drug and alcohol abuse, parental rejection, cultural disconnection, and was using meth by the age of 12.
“Is it little wonder that during these 18 hours, you tried to flee the police and resist them by the only means that you knew how,” the judge said.
“It’s likely, finally, with the good help of your experienced criminal barrister and others that your mental health diagnosis of someone suffering post-traumatic stress disorder because of the abuse you suffered you might finally get to reconcile the real you, not the one who at 16 was sent to prison for the first time where you became addicted to drugs and subjected again to a rotating series of abuses.
“Perhaps in the future you might be able to rehabilitate yourself.”
On two charges of using a firearm against law enforcement and of failing to stop for police, and one count each of using a firearm to resist arrest, intentional damage, unlawful possession of a firearm, dangerous driving and driving while suspended, Judge Winter took a starting point of seven years and six months.
Following discounts for Edwards’ guilty pleas and background factors, the judge jailed him for five years and six months.
Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.
OPINION: New Zealander reflects on delivering speech at St James' Palace.