The suspect tried to escape through mangroves but was eventually tracked down and found hiding in a car boot (file photo from an earlier police search). Photo / Michael Cunningham
The suspect tried to escape through mangroves but was eventually tracked down and found hiding in a car boot (file photo from an earlier police search). Photo / Michael Cunningham
A man who robbed and kidnapped a local town custodian in a popular tourist town has avoided prison after his dramatic arrest that ended in mangroves.
Dillon Jos Taituha, of Paihia, was sentenced for two charges of aggravated robbery and one charge of kidnapping in relation to when he and his co-offenders accosted two victims in the early hours of April 7, 2022.
Two weeks prior, a vehicle was taken from Waiwera Beach as its owners took a swim. The 22-year-old and a co-offender were later captured on CCTV driving the vehicle around the Paihia area with switched number plates on the stolen vehicle.
Around 3.30am on April 7, two victims, one being Focus Paihia’s town custodian, Henare Rapana, were parked near Paihia Beach and decided to go for a swim when Taituha and his co-offender turned up.
After hatching their plan, they assaulted the victims, with Taituha dragging one out of the vehicle and demanding belongings. Taituha rummaged through the vehicle looking for property and then demanded that the victims drive him to their motel.
Over the past two years, state-of-the-art CCTV has been installed around Paihia, capturing Taituha and his offending. Photo / NZME
Instead, the victims drove Taituha and his accomplice to another motel they knew had CCTV and when Taituha realised he was being captured, took off.
Police launched a large-scale search for Taituha with road spikes and a helicopter around the Haruru Falls and Paihia area.
The car was found dumped at the end of an isolated road and police dog handlers tracked the vehicle’s occupants to a large mangrove area, where they found footprints leading through deep mud into the water.
Taituha was located by the Eagle helicopter while trying to hide in the mangroves and a short time later, police units on the ground searching for the second occupant stopped a vehicle near Te Haumi.
When they searched it they found the driver of the car, which had been dumped at Haruru, hiding in the boot.
The victim is the father of Mori Rapana, former Treaty Grounds cultural manager Mori Rapana.
Taituha was supported in court by Te Tii Marae chair Ngatikawa Taituha.
At sentencing before Judge Keith de Ridder, the court heard one victim in particular is still suffering deep-seated trauma after being robbed of a Honda Orthia, eftpos card, cell phone and cigarettes. The other is still too afraid to go out at night.
Taituha has a moderate history of violent offending and pre-sentence reports revealed he had been excessively using alcohol for many years.
On the night of the offence, he admitted to consuming cannabis and alcohol and told report writers he was so drunk he could not remember anything.
Taituha has been in recovery at The Grace Foundation for almost a year and reports presented to the courts reflected a positive and progressive attitude.
“You have stuck to it. I know from experience on the bench, that foundation does not tolerate people who are not abiding by the rules. I have some confidence that this is not an easy passage out,” Judge de Ridder said.
Because Taituha had made such progress with the programme, Judge de Ridder stepped back from a term of imprisonment.
“There’s no point whatsoever in putting aside the past progress you have made by sending you to prison. By the end of this, you will have spent two years on restrictive conditions,” Judge de Ridder said.
Taituha was sentenced to 11 months of home detention.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
