Gang members jailed after 'meth fuelled' shooting spree outside Napier bar

By Ric Stevens

Two Mongrel Mob members who injured three people during a shooting spree outside a crowded Napier bar have been sent to prison for five years and 11 months.

They were sentenced in the Napier District Court on Friday for their part in a gang fight outside the Thirsty Whale bar in Ahuriri on February 28, 2021.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/napier-shooting-two-shot-at-west-quay-nightlife-hotspot-shocked-witnesses-say/6UDL6PEVTXORTJUONSCVZXZKIM/

Temihana Hetaraka Hare George Henare, 24, a Mongrel Mob Hawke's Bay chapter member, fired eight shots from a semi-automatic .22 rifle during the fight. Mongrel Mob Aotearoa member Waka Selwyn Tither, 27, fired twice.

Judge Barbara Morris described it as a "methamphetamine-fuelled gang-motivated shooting" outside a bar holding hundreds of people.

The Thirsty Whale pub at West Quay, Napier. Photo / NZME

"There could have been multiple deaths here. While it is not said that you intended to kill anyone, certainly that could have happened," she told Henare.

Each man earlier pleaded guilty to multiple charges, the most serious of which – wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm – had a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Injured in the shooting were two Raupunga men said to be members of the Manga Kaha patch of rivals Black Power.

A security guard at the bar was hit in the genitals by one of the shots.

A 19-year-old woman suffered headaches for days after another shot passed through her hair. Judge Morris said she came literally within a hair's breadth of being hit in the head.