The Wanaka hunter who shot and killed his best friend after mistaking him for a deer on December 19 last year has been sentenced to seven months' home detention in the Queenstown District Court this morning.
Reuben Kenneth James Burke (25), was also sentenced to 300 hours' community work, ordered to pay $10,000 emotional harm reparation to the family of Dougal Sisston Stanfield Fyfe (23), forfeit the .22 calibre rifle used in the incident to the Crown and had his firearms licence cancelled by Judge Kevin Phillips.
Members of the Burke and Fyfe families supported each other and Burke, who stood quietly in the dock, as Judge Phillips handed down the sentence.
Defence counsel Phena Byrne submitted "little would be gained" from sending Burke to prison and a sentence of imprisonment would have been unlikely to have provided any solace to the victim's family.
"This is a tragic, difficult and emotional case," she said.
"One family has lost a son, brother and a friend, another family stands before you looking at a son, brother and partner . . . awaiting his fate."
The maximum penalty for the charge of careless use of a firearm causing death was three years' imprisonment.
However, Judge Phillips told Burke "you sentence yourself every morning and think about what you did".
Burke, Mr Fyfe and another assosicate, Benjamin Sutherland, were at a Christmas party together in Maungawerea Valley Rd on December 18.
After a barbecue and consuming two or three beers the trio went eeling at Lake Wanaka, before going rabbit shooting on Mr Sutherland's farm.
About 1am the trio spotted a deer on land belonging to Mt Burke Station and began pursuing it.
Beliving it had been shot, Burke and Mr Fyfe began to chase the deer on foot, while Mr Sutherland remained in the vehicle.
Burke moved around a thick manuka stand and, believing Mr Fyfe was behind him, aimed and shot at an eye reflection about 60m away, called out to Mr Fyfe - got no reply - and then shot.
Burke called out again to Mr Fyfe, got no reply, and went to where he had fired the shot, finding the deceased on the ground.
"Burke was breath tested four to five hours after the incident and showed an "absolutely negative" result, Judge Phillips said in discounting alcohol as a contributing aggravating factor".
