By Lloyd Burr
The Wellington man jailed after mistakenly shooting and killing a fellow deer hunter will appeal his sentence.
Christopher Dummer, 54, was handed a nine-month jail sentence by Judge Peter Hobbs at the Wellington District Court this morning.
He was also told to pay reparation of $7000 and the rifle used in the accident will be destroyed.
But Dummer’s lawyer Andrew Davie appealed the sentenced this afternoon on the grounds that the judge failed to exercise his discretion correctly in sentencing Dummer to prison rather than home detention.
Mr Davies claimed Dummer would inevitably lose his job in the time it would take to hear the appeal. But it's likely the appeal will be heard at the High court within a few weeks.
The application for bail while the appeal was pending was declined.
Last month, Dummer pleaded guilty to the careless use of a firearm causing the death of Aucklander Cameron McDonald.
McDonald was fatally shot while on a deer hunting trip in Aorangi Forest Park, near Pirinoa in the South Wairarapa in April.
The 29-year-old had separated from his hunting companion Doug Williams while stalking a stag. A short time later, he was shot.
Dummer and a number of other Wellington hunters were in the area at the time.
In court last month, it was revealed Dummer saw a red colour, which he thought was the fur of a deer, before he fired. Mr McDonald was wearing a blaze orange beanie.
Dummer’s shot was fired from 16 meters away and the bullet went through the back of Mr McDonald’s head.
Deer hunters are encouraged to wear blaze orange colours when they go hunting so they can be easily distinguished from deer.
Dummer was the president of the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association in 2008. He is no longer a member.
“Your carelessness falls toward the higher end of spectrum,” Judge Hobbs says.
Mr McDonald’s family released a statement today saying Dummer broke every rule he taught and knew.
“We never want another family to suffer like we have family have. Cam, we love and miss you so much,” the statement says.
The charge carried a maximum penalty of three year’s imprisonment and a $4000 fine.
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