Teenager shoots at cop, bullet doesn't come out

A police chase ended when one of the teens pointed a gun at a police officer and pulled the trigger only for the bullet not to fire, a court has heard.

Two teenage boys shot at police during a chase because they were desperate to avoid capture after escaping a CYF camp, breaking into homes and stealing guns and a car, a court has heard.

Crown Solicitor Greg Hollister-Jones also said when the chase ended in Mount Maunganui one of the teens pointed a gun at a police officer and pulled the trigger only for the bullet not to fire.

The details were told to Rotorua's High Court yesterday.

The trial began with one of the youths facing a charge of attempted murder and the other charged with one count each of aggravated burglary, party to attempted murder and three charges of being party to using a firearm against an enforcement officer.

If convicted of the most serious charge, attempted murder, the youngest of the two could face up to 14 years in jail.

The youths have turned 15 since the alleged crimes, which took place just over eight months ago.

The court heard that on June 24, the teens escaped from a supervised CYF bush camp, four hours walk from Ruatoki.

The jury was told they broke into two houses and stole four guns and a car before travelling towards Whakatane.

When they reached Te Puke, a security guard recognised the stolen car and alerted police.

Constable Edward Burgess, of Mount Maunganui police, told the trial he pursued the vehicle through Te Puke, reaching speeds of up to 160km/h.

Three police cars chased the vehicle into Mount Maunganui where the younger of the two teenagers got into the back seat with the guns and allegedly fired the first shot.

The chase finally ended in Oceanbeach Rd.

When Constable Riki Valentine approached the car, the teenager in the back seat allegedly pointed the gun at him.

The teenager then turned his attention to dog handler Constable James Muir.

He pointed the rifle at the officer, who yelled at him to put it down.

He heard the click of the gun but it failed to fire, the court heard.

The teenagers got out of the car and the dog handler released his dog, which latched on to the arm of the teenager in the back seat. The second teenager was apprehended by Mr Burgess.

The defence counsel for the driver, Craig Horsley, said while his client did not deny he was the driver, that was all he was, and whatever the other teenager did was his actions alone.

- BOP Times