Armed offender who fired unlicensed pistol goes to jail [1]
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 - 17:46
Ta’ufo’ou Fale’ofa (45) was sentenced today to 20-months imprisonment for using a firearm without a license, specifically a .45 pistol, which he fired at a vehicle in Kolonga on January 3 this year.
Lord Chief Justice Whitten QC sentenced him at the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court.
In April, the defendant pleaded guilty to five charges. However on August 17 the day of trial, Prosecution dropped four of the charges. He then pleaded guilty to this one charge.
The Crown's evidence stated that the offending was on January 3, when a complainant called Sateki Tameilau went to Kolonga to see his mother. While in the living room of her house, with his mother and nephew, Sateki saw the defendant alight from a vehicle.
The defendant then entered the house and stood holding a .45 pistol. He pointed the gun at Sateki and said “Sevele, I am going to shoot you now, so don’t play games with me again.”
Sateki told the defendant that he was not Sevele and that he did not know anyone by that name, but the defendant kept asking him for Sevele. The defendant then turned and shot Sateki’s work vehicle parked outside. He then ran out of the house and disappeared.
After Sateki filed a complaint with the police and a search was conducted at the defendant’s residence but did not find the pistol or any ammunition.
Police confirmed that the defendant did not have a licence for either and he was arrested.
The Crown submitted the aggravating features were that he had previous convictions including, relevantly in 2012, when he was sentenced to eight-years’ imprisonment for attempted armed robbery and five-years’ imprisonment for grievous bodily harm, which also involved the use of a pistol.
Probation also reported that the defendant emigrated with his family emigrated to the United States, when he was nine-years old. He was first imprisoned there at 18 for dealing drugs and possession of firearms. In 2003, he was deported to Tonga.
Armed man
The Lord Chief Justice said, due to the seriousness of the offending, by reference to the known and agreed facts, and the defendant’s criminal history, the Court was confronted with a number of unanswered questions.
“First instance: where or from whom did the defendant acquire the firearm, being a powerful large calibre pistol; why he had it; and why did he go to the complainant’s house; why did he go with the loaded firearm; who was Sevele; and what did the defendant want with him, which required him to be looking for him with a loaded weapon?” he said.
"I consider the instant offending to be more serious than an ordinary case of using a firearm without a licence for it."
“In addition, on the facts accepted by the defendant, his guilt on this count was incontrovertible. He could have and should have, entered that plea when first arraigned,” he said.
“He does not have a good previous record. He has a significant criminal history, both here and in the United States, including for violence involving firearms, for which he received lengthy prison terms and, more recently, a conviction for discharging a firearm with intent to intimidate.
“The offending, at least in so far as it involved him being in possession of the firearm when he went to the complainant’s home, involved some premeditation. That he has either disposed of the pistol or simply not surrendered it to police tends to belie his stated remorse,” said the Lord Chief Justice.
He then sentenced him to 20-months’ imprisonment.
However, he was said to have cooperated with a police investigation into his assertion that the pistol was fired by mistake. This offered some diminution in culpability. He was also said to have committed to changing his life since starting his current relationship, becoming a father and establishing a business with his partner.
"There is some basis for optimism as to the likelihood of the defendant taking the opportunity offered by a partly suspended sentence to rehabilitate himself."
The Lord Chief Justice ordered that the final 10-months of the sentence be suspended for 12-months, from the date of his release from prison on conditions.
The shell casing found at the scene was ordered to be forfeited to the Crown for disposal.