Rollie Heke's father makes plea for his son to give himself up.
By Meghan Lawrence
A prison associate of wanted Morrinsville shooting suspect Rollie Heke has labelled the fugitive as "the definition of a gangster".
The former inmate, who served a few years in the same prison unit as Heke, said the fugitive has always wanted to be the "biggest and baddest" criminal and was well-known among fellow convicts.
"To put it bluntly, Rollie is the definition of a gangster. In jail he wanted to make a name for himself and he bloody well did that."
He said Heke is a long-serving member of the Auckland Nomads and is seen as one of the gang's "head guys" or "captains".
"Any Nomad who came into our unit, he would go over and smash them up to make sure they didn't back down.
"After that he would train them and give them everything they needed; money, food, you name it, he would give it to them and train them to become better."
He says Heke was "pretty on to it", a "smart character" and "well-educated".
"He is a machine. In the mornings he would be up by 6am and outside training, he would have breakfast and go off and do courses, and then at lunchtime he would train again.
"He has lost the plot because of the gear he is smoking, but sometimes he can be a bloody good dude, and then sometimes he can be a complete f**k**t."
He says Heke was well connected both inside and outside of prison, and was involved in the importation and supply of methamphetamine, had a large synthetic cannabis trade within three New Zealand prisons, and was importing M4A1 semi-automatic machine guns.
"The whole time I have known him he portrayed himself as a gangster and he wants to be the biggest and baddest.
"From what I have seen and what I know, he pretty much is. There are only a couple of other guys who can go toe to toe with him and he is a bloody good fighter."
Police searching for Rollie Heke are also seeking 43-year-old Irene Scanlon.
He believes Heke will not surrender, despite pleas from his family.
"Rollie will not give up, as much as you bring his mother into it, he will not care and he is not going to give up. He is going to go out fighting.
"He won't leave the country or run from the fight, he will stick around and go out blazing."
Earlier today Heke's father made a plea for him to peacefully hand himself in.
"No one has been hurt, it's not that bad yet. You have time to do the right thing," he said.
"If you want someone from the whanau to come and get you just phone one of us. You have a big whanau out here that cares for you. You are well loved by all of us."
The prison associate said Heke doesn't trust many people and was more trusting of his female friends than anyone else.
"The majority of his stuff will be at girls' houses. He won't leave it with other Nomads or male friends as he trusts his female friends more than anyone."
He believes Heke is on the run with his girlfriend, who also has a warrant to arrest for breaching her community detention conditions.
Police are seeking 43-year-old Irene Scanlon who they believe may be assisting Heke to evade police.
Shot-up police vehicles on Kuranui Rd, Morinsville, after a gunman opened fire on pursuing officers.
Background:
36-year-old Rollie James Heke is wanted by police in relation to a firearms incident in Morrinsville on Sunday morning.
Police believe Heke led officers on a chase in the small Waikato town, before they were forced to flee when he shot at them.
Two people were taken into custody on Sunday but police said Heke escaped on foot.
On Monday night, armed police surrounded a Morrinsville house and called for Heke to come out, firing teargas into the property. But despite a search of the house and a neighbouring property, there was no sign of him.
Yesterday police said their search for Heke has been elevated to a "national level" and an order was given that all Waikato staff work in pairs and be armed at all times.
Waikato Police Detective Superintendent Chris Page revealed they have been looking for Heke since September 2016.
He said police believe Heke has moved out of the Morrinsville area and had associates helping him avoid police.
