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Offender Databases Dal Kearns

Dal William Kearns

Alias

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Offences

Armed robbery, aggravated burglary, kidnapping, causing grievous bodily harm with reckless disregard for safety in Waimangaroa in July 2000
Extremely lengthy list of prior convictions including aggravated robbery, careless use causing death, theft, burglary and receiving

Victims

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Offender Affiliations

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Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1969

Current Location

Prison

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to 11 years in October 2002, a 7 year minimum non parole period was set

Background
From the Press (Christchurch) 24 October 2002
A home invasion and kidnapping incident in which the victim was blasted in the foot with a shotgun came into the "worst of kind" category, a prosecutor has said. Dal William Kearns, 33, was jailed for 11 years and ordered to serve at least a seven-year non-parole period by Justice Panckhurst in the High Court in Christchurch. The judge said the victim, a man who lived alone on an isolated Waimangaroa block, had come home at night to be accosted by two masked intruders, of which the judge said he had no doubt Kearns was one. Both had terrorised him over a period of hours, the apparent motive being theft of cannabis.

The victim was bound and the butt-end of an electric drill applied to his buttocks, he struggled violently, and a third person entered and shot him in the left foot. The injuries to his foot were grievous, causing the loss of toes. With a noose round his neck, the victim was led outside to find cannabis, and was so desperate he jumped into a dredge pond in an attempt to escape. He was then left tied up in the house and threatened with a bottle of petrol before the assailants left. Kearns was eventually caught as a result of a DNA match. The judge said the effects on the victim had been dire. He felt unable to return home, had to sell up his property at a loss, and may face further surgery. Kearns' counsel, James O'Neill, said Kearns still denied his responsibility for the crimes.

He felt very strongly the DNA evidence was put there by one of the perpetrators, but he accepted the court was bound by the verdicts. He suspected their identity, but to reveal them would not be "good for his health", said Mr O'Neill. Prosecutor Jane Farish noted at the time of the offending Kearns was under a suspended sentence and on supervision. The offending came into the "worst of kind" category, and a significant non- parole period should apply. Justice Panckhurst said Kearns declined to answer police questions or give evidence in court. Who else was involved and why remained unanswered questions. He had an 11-page list of previous convictions, which included aggravated robbery and careless use causing death, and was assessed as posing a high risk of further offending. The only mitigating factor in the case was that the victim was spared at the end of the episode, said the judge.

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Corrections and Additional Information
We endeavour to make this database as accurate as possible, but we are at the mercy of whatever information we can find in various online and offline archives. We rely on the public - that is, people like you - to fill in the gaps that we cannot. If you wish to submit additional information or a correction to this file CLICK HERE . Privacy: Trust policy is that all sources are treated as strictly confidential unless we are explicitly told otherwise. If you wish to see a file removed from this database certain conditions must be met by the offender set out HERE Note that this does NOT apply for those that are the primary offender in a murder, rape, or any sexual offending involving minors. We do not enter into correspondence regarding the guilt/innocence of offenders. Such correspondence is not responded to, especially if the offender concerned has a number of prior convictions

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