Two guilty of Te Puna violent terror attack

Two Tauranga men on trial this week have been found guilty of being involved in a violent terror attack against a Te Puna family and one of their associates.

This afternoon in Tauranga District Court the jury returned guilty verdicts for Jack Simon Ake, 53, of Te Puna, in relation to one count each of wounding with intent to injure and assault with a weapon, namely a spade.

Derek Michael Drewry, 28, of Judea was also found guilty of one count of common assault.

Both men were among a large group of uninvited people who turned up at the Te Puna home of Andrew Duncan and his family on the evening of November 23, 2012, some armed with weapons.

During the violent confrontation, Mr Duncan was seriously hurt after he was struck with a spade in the head or back of the neck by Ake and briefly lost consciousness.

Mr Duncan was treated at Tauranga Hospital for serious facial wounds and a damaged collarbone.

During the melee Drewry tackled Stephen Peters, an associate of Mr Duncan's sons, to the ground.

Ake, Drewry and their associates only backed off when one of Mr Duncan's loaded a shotgun and fired warning shots into the air, the jury was told.

Part way through the trial Jasmine Hira Borrell, 26, of Welcome Bay, admitted two counts of assault in relation to two of the three adult complainants.

She was discharged on another two counts of assault with intent to injure and possession of an offensive weapon, due to insufficient evidence reasons.

Her brother Rihari Jarrod Borrell, 23, walked free from court on Wednesday after the serious assault charges he faced were dismissed, also because the Crown accepted there was insufficient evidence to continue to try him.

Jasmine Borrell, Ake and Drewry will be sentenced on October 14.