Dixon meant business says hostage

Antonie Ronnie Dixon

A man taken hostage by alleged murderer Antonie Ronnie Dixon told a jury yesterday how he struck up a rapport with his captor while held at gunpoint.

The Crown alleges Dixon, 36, went on a drug-fuelled crime spree on January 21, 2003, starting with a sword attack on two women at Pipiroa, on the Hauraki Plains.

Dixon denies the attempted murder of the women and the murder of James Te Aute in Highland Park, east Auckland, later that night.

Ian Miller told the jury in the High Court at Auckland that Dixon, wielding a home-made automatic firearm with a laser sight, burst into his home in Inchimman Rd, Flatbush in the early hours of the following morning.

His partner Karen Power managed to escape, but Mr Miller was held captive throughout the night.

Dixon, agitated and "hyper", warned him things would get "messy" if he did not do as he was told.

"He indicated he had already killed someone that night, so he meant business," Mr Miller told prosecutor Richard Marchant.

Shortly after Dixon arrived, Mr Miller said he received a telephone call from the police warning that there was a fugitive in the area.

"I indicated that the fugitive wasn't on the loose. He was already with me," Mr Miller told the jury.

Over the course of the night Dixon had many conversations with Mr Miller and with a police negotiator, Senior Sergeant Wendy Spiller.

Mr Miller said that Dixon said he attacked the two women with a samurai sword because one of them had been planted by the police.

He said Dixon talked about the woman who was the plant having a homing device on her and said that they were followed by 747 aeroplanes.

"It didn't seem quite normal to me," Mr Miller observed.

Mr Miller said at one point Dixon indicated that he (Dixon) "wasn't going to see the light of day, one way or another".

He suggested both he and Mr Miller wear identical clothes, so that he could make his escape using Mr Miller as a shield, but later dropped the plan.

"I said to Tony 'I don't like this idea. They are going to start shooting and I'm not ready to get shot yet'," Mr Miller said.

Eventually as Dixon relaxed, Mr Miller was able to strike up a rapport with him.

At one point Mr Miller felt safe enough to leave the bedroom where he was being held.

"I said 'to hell with this. I'm going for a beer and if you want a drink you can follow me'," Mr Miller told the jury. Mr Miller had a beer and Dixon an orange juice in the kitchen.

Mr Miller said he told police, who phoned constantly, that he was all right.

Dixon became "mellow" and eventually allowed Mr Miller to leave, telling him he was "okay".

Mr Miller said he wanted Dixon to leave with him but he refused.

"He indicated at that stage that he had not decided which way he was going to go and needed time to think about it," Mr Miller said.

"I said 'see you, mate' and walked out."

That was about 5.30am. Dixon surrendered to police half an hour later.

Senior Sergeant Spiller said that Dixon told her by phone that he attacked the women with the sword because he believed one of them was having an affair with a policeman.

She said he was yelling that he was going to kill his hostage, any police and himself.

It would make Aramoana "look like a walk in the park". He had nothing to live for, nothing to lose and wasn't going to go back to prison.

Ms Spiller said Dixon told her the man he killed was a "black bastard" who deserved to die and that the country was being "overrun with Asians and blacks".

She said he referred to Mr Miller "as being his armoured vest". Dixon also referred to what happened in Pipiroa as "slicing and dicing".

The trial before Justice Judith Potter continues today.

The charges Antonie Dixon is accused of:

* Murdering James Te Aute.

* Attempting to murder Simonne Butler and Renee Gunbie.

* Two other charges of attempted murder, shooting at a police officer, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.