James Selkirk has been sent to prison. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray<\/p>\n
Selkirk and Allen then set up a fake Trade Me account under the name of the victim to purchase a Stirling M20 Semi Auto 22LR rifle. They emailed the seller a copy of Allen\u2019s fake gun licence. <\/p>\n
\u201cOn 24 March 2024, Mr Selkirk cut this Stirling rifle down to 320mm in length, thereby converting it from a rifle into a pistol,\u201d the agreed summary of facts states in reference to the manufacturing a firearm charge, which is punishable by up to 10 years\u2019 imprisonment.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Selkirk then offered to sell this pistol to an associate in Clendon Park in exchange for a combination of Class A and B controlled drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine and GBL.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police discovered the weapon 10 days later. <\/p>\n
It appeared the Trade Me scheme hadn\u2019t been Selkirk\u2019s only foray into forgery. When police searched his home months later, they found nine driver\u2019s licences in his bedroom, all of which had the rightful owners\u2019 photographs and details removed. <\/p>\n
\u2018Tuff as doses\u2019<\/p>\n
While investigating how the sawn-off firearm ended up in the criminal underworld, police obtained permission to collect phone data from both Selkirk and Allen. <\/p>\n
A search through Selkirk\u2019s phone showed that he had also been dealing illegal recreational drug GBL for well over a year. <\/p>\n
As an example, police pointed to nine messages sent by Selkirk to different people on a single day in April 2023, all boasting of having \u201ctuff as doses\u201d for sale. <\/p>\n
\u201cI got some bad as doses today,\u201d he wrote in another message in July 2024, over a year later. <\/p>\n
James Selkirk was on home detention when he reoffended. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray<\/p>\n
Accompanying the note was a photo of an open courier bag containing multiple 15g bottles falsely labelled \u201cliquid remover\u201d – an \u201cobvious effort\u201d, the judge said, to hide the drug in plain sight. <\/p>\n
As a result of the messages, he was also charged with offering to supply a Class B drug. <\/p>\n
Officer among identity theft victims<\/p>\n
A month before the GBL photo was sent, police had busted Selkirk on a number of lesser \u2013 but arguably more concerning \u2013 charges that resulted from a vehicle search. <\/p>\n
The defendant had been sitting in the back seat of a car at a petrol station on Auckland Central\u2019s Karangahape Rd when police noticed what appeared to be a drug deal between him and the other occupant. <\/p>\n
Upon searching his bag, officers found another sawn-off firearm, a police badge, a police wallet containing ID and a building access card. Authorities did not elaborate in court documents or during Selkirk\u2019s sentencing about how he came to have the items. <\/p>\n
Unlawful possession of police property is punishable by up to three months\u2019 imprisonment, while unlawful possession of a firearm carries a maximum possible sentence of four years. <\/p>\n
Two weeks after that arrest, he used a stolen credit card to purchase over $5000 in photography gear, then used more stolen cards over the next month to repeatedly target Mitre 10 stores and a bicycle shop with over $15,000 in fraudulent purchases. <\/p>\n
Lengthy history of fraud<\/p>\n
In a separate sentencing hearing in July, Selkirk\u2019s co-defendant mate was sentenced to two years and three months\u2019 imprisonment for a combination of broadly similar charges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s getting worse,\u201d Judge Evangelos Thomas told Allen at that hearing, referring to illegal guns in the community. \u201cThe fear of it is getting worse. The court\u2019s response to it is getting heavier.<\/p>\n
\u201c… These are offences from which our citizens need to be firmly protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Selkirk\u2019s more recent hearing, Judge Bonnar ordered the same three-year starting point that Selkirk\u2019s co-defendant had received before considering deductions and uplifts due to mitigating and aggravating factors. <\/p>\n
Judge Stephen Bonnar presides over James Selkirk’s sentencing in Auckland District Court. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray<\/p>\n
He reviewed a relapse prevention plan provided by Selkirk and certificates of programmes he had taken since being returned to custody. Defence lawyer Jaime-Anne Tulloch noted that he had been described as a \u201ccompliant, respectful prisoner\u201d who was \u201cmotivated to address his addiction\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cMr Selkirk is serious and genuine in terms of addressing his addiction,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
She asked for a lesser starting point than Allen, pointing out that the co-defendant had illegally purchased four firearms while her client was only found to have been involved in possession of two of them. But the judge was unpersuaded, noting that Allen was not charged with altering the guns like Selkirk was. <\/p>\n
He agreed with Crown prosecutor Natanahira Herewini that the three-year starting point should reflect the forged documents and manufacturing a pistol charges before adding 20 more months for the drugs, police property and credit card offences. <\/p>\n
The judge noted that Selkirk had been charged with crimes on 24 prior occasions between 2010 and 2024, the vast majority for dishonesty-type offending. <\/p>\n
Most recently, he had been sentenced to intensive supervision but had the sentence altered to more restrictive home detention after breaching the supervision conditions. He was still subject to the revised home detention sentence when he started committing the crimes for which he was recently sentenced. <\/p>\n
The judge allowed 35% in total reductions for Selkirk\u2019s guilty pleas and his efforts at rehabilitation but added 5% for his prior convictions and for having offended while on home detention. <\/p>\n