A man vying to be Ashburton’s next mayor was in court for unlawfully having guns and ammunition on his property.

Allenton man Jeffrey Christopher Ryan, 55, pleaded guilty on Monday to two unlawful possession charges.

The first was for having a 12-gauge double barrel shotgun and a .22 calibre semi automatic rifle on his property, despite not having a firearms licence.

The second was for having ammunition, including a round already loaded inside one of the guns.

“The magazine was probably useless anyways, your honour,” Ryan said when the ammunition charge was read in court.

Lawyer Tiffany McRae said the guns had belonged to Ryan’s parents.

“He explained the firearms he found at his parents house.”

He believed it “wouldn’t be safe” to leave the guns on their property as his dad had dementia.

The court heard Ryan had not stored the guns in a lockable cabinet, container, or receptacle of ‘stout construction’ as per the Arms Regulations 1992, and had not made sure the guns were empty.

“He accepts there was a round of ammunition in the chamber, and hadn’t checked that,” McRae said.

“He’s happy for the items to be destroyed.”

McRae said there was no need for continued name suppression as Ryan “wants the matter to be dealt with openly”.

“I don’t want name suppression,” Ryan said from the dock.

“I’m actually running for mayor, that’s why I want transparency.”

Ryan announced his intention to run for mayor in February, promising to stop progress on the second Ashburton bridge, and to build a bypass around the town.

He addressed the courtroom at length, an unusual occurrence in the Ashburton District Court.

He said he’d been concerned about the safety of family members after learning about threats towards his partner’s daughter.

“I’m a trained soldier.

“Soldiers, we protect people.”

While not related to the charges, Ryan also said he was “disappointed” that his firearms licence had been revoked by police prior to discovery of the weapons.

Ryan also said the court case had cost him his relationship.

Judge Raoul Neave said there had been an “element of oversight” in how Ryan had handled the weapons.

But he said the guns were kept “due to a perceived need to protect his family from what seems to be a very real threat.”

Neave said Ryan had no relevant previous convictions and clearly “wishes to face up to his responsibility.”

Ryan was convicted and fined $500 and court costs on the gun ownership charge.

On the ammunition charge, he was convicted and discharged.

The guns and ammunition have all been ordered to be destroyed.

By Anisha Satya