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Denise Piper / Things
Jefferey Cassidy admitted to shooting at the police while trying to escape a chase in Whangārei.
A man who admitted to shooting police twice during a chase in Whangārei was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Jefferey Cassidy, 23, previously admitted to five counts of the nightly manhunt on September 2 that had residents cowering on their properties.
But he denied deliberately shooting at police, despite hitting the headlight of a police dog car, instead saying he fired two warning shots, holding the gun in one hand without looking.
But at a controversial factual hearing in Whangārei District Court on Monday, Judge John McDonald ruled that it would not have been possible to fire the sawed-off .303 shotgun multiple times with one hand.
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He sided with the police, instead of Cassidy, who admitted to drinking more than 20 cans of seven percent alcohol mixes that night, as well as beers.
Cassidy was sentenced to seven years in prison and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
