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Anthony Bell was dead within seconds of getting out of his ute to fight three unknown men, felled by a blow with such force that when his head hit the concrete he died on impact, the Crown says.
Cousins Benjamin and Frank Sweeney are on trial for the manslaughter of Bell, a father of six who was travelling home to Te Kūiti with his two brothers in late 2021 when the skirmish between the two groups of men took place outside an Ōtorohanga petrol station forecourt.
Benjamin Sweeney is also charged with assault with intent to injure and assault with a weapon.
A third man travelling with the Sweeneys that day, who were both patched Mongrel Mob members, is not on trial.
CCTV footage of the fight outside the Mobil in Maniapoto St shows two utes, a black Volkswagen Amarok and a white ute with a motorbike on the back, pulling up within moments of each other on the afternoon of October 2, 2021.
Bell can be seen getting out of the back seat, as his brothers got out to confront the gang members.
Almost immediately Bell is assaulted by Benjamin Sweeney, distinctive because of the World War II German soldier’s helmet he was wearing, who knocks Bell to the ground and kicks him.
But those are not the blows that kill 34-year-old Bell.
While he lays on the ground Sweeney picks up a hammer and rushes at Bell’s younger brother Victor Tumai who is fighting the third man, striking Tumai with the weapon.
On the other side of the white ute, Ethan Tumai is on the main street edging away from Frank Sweeney, the bigger of the cousins, who were both wearing their gang patches.
Ethan Tumai told the jury in the High Court at Hamilton today that he ran away from Frank Sweeney and as he did he saw Victor Tumai being bottled, and Bell on the ground.
Seconds later Frank and Benjamin confronted Bell, who by this stage had staggered to his feet.
The view of exactly what happened next is largely obscured by a petrol bowser but Bell can be seen falling backwards onto the ground. He never gets back up.
Crown prosecutor Philip Morgan, KC, told the jury that Bell’s cause of death was brain stem concussion.
He immediately stopped breathing when his head hit the forecourt, Morgan said.
He said the two groups of “foolish” men encountered each other on State Highway 3 between Te Awamutu and Ōtorohanga on that fateful day.
Anthony Takrouna Bell of Te Kūiti (right) died after a fight with Benjamin and Frank Sweeney. The cousins are now on trial for manslaughter. Photo / Supplied
The three Te Kūiti brothers had been to Te Kowhai to collect a motorbike for Ethan when they stopped in Te Awamutu at the Firkin Sports Bar.
Bell and Ethan Tumai had already consumed a box of 15 Export Gold beers earlier that day.
At the pub the pair shared three jugs of beer, or three handles each, and then bought a box of pre-mix bourbon and cola drinks from a nearby liquor store. Victor Tumai, who was driving, remained sober.
CCTV shows the trio at Burger King before they left for Te Kūiti, followed shortly after by chance, by the black Amarok.
The first witness, Ethan Tumai, told the jury of eight women and four men that on the trip to Ōtorohanga the black ute tailgated the white ute so badly it was “right up our arse”.
Tumai said he gestured at the occupants with his fingers and when they came to a passing lane outside the King Country town, the black ute overtook them and the occupants pulled Mongrel Mob gang signs with their hands.
“That’s when we knew they were gang members.”
During cross-examination, lawyer Julie-Anne Kincade - for Frank Sweeney - said there was much passing back and forth between the two utes and that the brothers in the white ute were the aggressors, which Tumai denied.
She said the white ute chased the black ute and swerved at stages to prevent it passing and that Bell threw his burger wrapping at the black ute.
Tumai said when they arrived in Ōtorohanga moments after the black ute, Bell told Victor to pull over where the three others were already waiting.
He said the gang members were standing with weapons and he had a screwdriver but Kincade said the footage showed Bell getting out of the white ute with a hammer and she suggested Tumai had a knuckleduster with a knife attached rather than a screwdriver.
“Well, they were coming towards me. I just ran away, I didn’t look back. I was scared for my life.”
She said he was never chased and threw away the knuckleduster so that police wouldn’t find it. Tumai denied this.
When he returned to the scene the black ute was gone and Bell was on the ground surrounded by people who had put the man into the recovery position, saying he was still breathing.
Tumai was so angry he threw his phone on the ground, smashing it.
“They were telling you to calm down, that you weren’t helping. Do you remember that you were shouting and yelling?”
“Yep,” Tumai said.
Kincade said Tumai pushed a helper out of the way and pulled his brother out of the recovery position, which Tumai denied.
He said when he got back to the scene he took one look at this brother and knew “he was gone”.
“I could just see it. I was screaming for him to get up. He was making this real out of it noise, like he was trying to breathe or something, but he couldn’t.”
Tumai’s voice broke at times throughout his testimony, and when he saw his brother lying on the ground he admitted he was so angry he kicked and punched a pole.
“I was all over the place.”
Lawyer for Benjamin Sweeney, Nick Chisnall, asked the jury to be dispassionate when it came to the Sweeneys’ gang patches, and not be prejudicial.
Chisnall asked Tumai if he and Bell were pointing something that looked like a firearm at the black ute as they drove along State Highway 3.
Tumai denied this although admitted being “very agitated” when they got to the passing lane outside Ōtorohanga.
Chisnall put to Tumai that Benjamin Sweeney tried to reason with him before the fight but Tumai denied this, saying the men were yelling racial slurs.
