KEY POINTS:
Police have arrested four youths after an attack put two Taranaki men in hospital on Thursday night.
One man, aged 42, remained in a critical condition yesterday in Auckland City Hospital. The two men confronted a group of up to 10 youths damaging letterboxes in Eltham.
The second man suffered a broken jaw and lost teeth after being knocked unconscious in the attack.
Police said four Eltham youths, aged between 15 and 20, would appear in Hawera District Court today to face charges relating to the attack.
Senior Sergeant Shaun Keenan, of Stratford, told the Taranaki Daily News police searched a number of Eltham houses on Saturday.
"As a result, we have seized a number of exhibits that are going for forensic testing," Mr Keenan said.
The items found included clothing police believed the alleged offenders were wearing on the night.
"You don't give a guy a bashing like that and not get some blood on your clothing," Mr Keenan said.
An axe was also found.
"It was used to break letterboxes, but we don't believe it was used in the assault at this stage."
A number of pieces of timber thought to have been used in the assault were found on Friday.
Mr Keenan said it was of concern that a 15-year-old was allegedly involved in such a brutal bludgeoning.
"If this person was to pass away, it will alter the course of (the offender's) life forever. They don't really appreciate the gravity of the offending and how it could affect them."
Mr Keenan said it was still not known if the man on life support would survive.
"They (doctors) are concerned about the level of injury that he has sustained. It is a bit of a worry, three days into it, there has been no improvement at all," he said.
If the man survived, it was too early to tell if he would suffer any permanent disability from the attack.
- NZPA
