Sentencing — theft — failing to answer bail — unlawful possession of ammunition — possession of an offensive weapon — driving when forbidden — possession of cannabis — assault — receiving stolen property — cumulative sentence — R v Corner CA291/87, 17 March 1988 — Roberts v Police (1993) 10 CRNZ 451 — Dewes v Police HC Christchurch A 60/03, 12 June 2003 — R v Richardson CA450/02, 25 March 2003 — Crimes Act 1961 — Arms Act 1983 — Sentencing Act 2002, ss 7, 8 & 16. The defendant appeared for sentence after pleading guilty to multiple offences spread over five separate incidents. The offending included theft of fuel, driving without a licence, possession of cannabis and drug utensils, possession of ammunition, assault, car theft, and unlawful possession of a rifle and a sawn-off shotgun. As there were five sets of offending the Court adopted a cumulative sentencing approach overlaid by the totality principle, taking as the lead charges the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. A long line of authorities established that unlawful possession of firearms and ammunitions is serious offending. Given that the defendant had driven around with two loaded firearms available for use for a criminal purpose, the Court observed that the minimum start point for this offending was three years' imprisonment. For the five separate sets of offending, the total start point was four years 10 months, adjusted to four years four months' to reflect the totality principle. The Court then uplifted this by three months for offending on bail and another six months for previous convictions. With a 15-month reduction for guilty pleas, the final sentence was three years six months' imprisonment. Judgment Date: 4 June 2019.