A Mongrel Mob member who fired a shotgun down the hallway of a rival gang member’s home, injuring a person, says he wasn’t the instigator of what was an act of gang retribution.

His lawyer Christ Tennet told the Wellington High Court his client just “went along with it”.

But Justin James Edward McGoldrick was today sentenced to six years in prison for his “significant” role of pulling the trigger and wounding the victim during the retribution on another gang.

“You have had things hard but you still made your own bad choices,” Justice Francis Cooke told McGoldrick.

McGoldrick had earlier pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and aggravated wounding.

In January last year two of McGoldrick’s gang associates were robbed by a member of the Crips gang.

The pair, including Teimana Tawhai, who was sentenced in February for his part in the attack, planned their retribution that day, finding the man’s address and planning the attack.

After meeting up with McGoldrick and two others on the evening of January 10, the group travelled to pick up the pump action shotgun - the same firearm that would be fired in the hallway later that evening.

At 11pm the group arrived at the victim’s home where he was hosting a small gathering for a birthday party. McGoldrick was high on methamphetamine.

McGoldrick, who was carrying the gun, Tawhai, and another associate got out of the vehicle and knocked on the door of the Lower Hutt home.

After an altercation at the front door a partygoer walked from the back of the house to see what was going on.

McGoldrick fired three rounds down the hallway, striking and wounding the man in the torso.

He suffered “in excess of 20 wounds to the left side of his torso from the shotgun pallets” according to the summary of facts.

McGoldrick and his fellow gang members who fled in a Toyota ute were spotted by police after several calls were made by the public.

Police attempted to stop the vehicle but the group sped away, weaving through traffic and turning their lights off.

They eventually stopped after their wheels were spiked by police, and when the car was searched the shotgun was found.

Tennet said his client rejected the fact he had been labelled as a senior member of the gang and argued he wasn’t the instigator of the events that unfolded that evening.

“He went along with it,” Tennet said. “But because of his addiction, he really didn’t think things through”.

McGoldrick accepted he played a significant role in the events of that evening but said he had been working on himself and was remorseful.

Tennet said despite previous failed attempts at rehabilitation, his client was ready to make changes in his life.

He had been working hard on himself, surrounding himself with the right people, and turning down drugs while in prison, according to Tennet.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Page believed the discount should be smaller than what Tennet submitted.

Justice Cooke said McGoldrick had a “lengthy criminal history” that included violence and weapons and he didn’t accept the man’s rejection of being a leader of the group.

Court-ordered reports showed McGoldrick was a man who had experienced deprivation in his early years, turning to drugs and gangs.

McGoldrick was of Samoan and Pākehā decent and Justice Cooke said it wasn’t uncommon for Pasifika families to struggle, and the gang life provided McGoldrick with a sense of community and identity.

“You have had things hard, but you have still made your own bad choices,” he told McGoldrick.

Justice Cooke said the man was fortunate to have the support of his whānau, but especially that of his partner.

“If you are to really move on from this life of gangs, drugs, and violence, you will need to think about her and the support she provides you rather than the other influences in your life,” Justice Cooke said.

“Your future will remain in your own hands. It is up to you if you have the strength of character to introduce changes into your own life.”

- Hazel Osborne, Open Justice