Tribesmen member Don Turei was on his way to a wedding reception when he was knocked off his motorcycle. Photo/Supplied.
Tribesmen member Don Turei was on his way to a wedding reception when he was knocked off his motorcycle. Photo/Supplied.
Don Turei was on his way to a wedding reception when he was knocked off his motorcycle. Now Mongrel Mob member Andre Robert Taiapa has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
A Mongrel Mob member has admitted killing a rival gangster by knocking him off his motorcycle.
Tribesman Don Henry Turei jnr, 38, had just left a family wedding and was heading to the reception when he rode past a group of Mongrel Mob unveiling a plaque at a marae in November 2016.
Name suppression has now lapsed for Andre Robert Taiapa who today pleaded guilty to mansalughter.
Police said members of the Mob chased Turei and knocked him off his Harley Davidson near Te Kaha, in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
He died near Raukokore Marae despite the best efforts of a passing doctor.
A white Honda van was found burned on the banks of the nearby Raukokore River.
Turei's death triggered a long police investigation and eventually three arrests.
Six months later, Bay of Plenty men Henare Raukokore Swinton, 33, and Jared Renata Te Moana, 34, pleaded not guilty to suppressing evidence to help someone avoid a murder conviction.
The fatal attack happened near the picturesque Raukokore Church near Te Kaha. Photo/Alan Gibson.
The van which hit Don Turei was dumped beside the Raukokore River and set alight. Photo/Supplied.
Then in November last year, 12 months after Turei died, police charged a 38-year-old man with murder.
Name suppression has since lapsed for Andre Robert Taiapa, a member of the Mongrel Mob chapter based in Porirua.
Today, the murder charge was withdrawn and Taiapa instead pleaded guilty to manslaughter when he appeared by video link in the High Court at Tauranga.
Members of Turei's family in the public gallery wept on hearing the admission.
Justice Sarah Katz convicted him and issued a "first strike" warning to Taiapa, which means if he is convicted of another serious violence offence he will serve the full sentence, without parole or early release.
He will be sentenced in the High Court at Rotorua next month.
Andre Robert Taiapa pleaded guilty by video link. Photo/Alan Gibson.
Don Henry Turei Junior was a family man. Photo/Supplied.
His co-accused, Swinton and Moana, pleaded not guilty to the amended charge of accessory to manslaughter.
Their trial is scheduled to start in September and the evidence will focus on what happened after Turei's death.
