Gang patch ban: Head Hunters West boss back in court

The president of the Head Hunters West chapter has pleaded not guilty to displaying gang insignia on the day the patch ban came into force.

Phillip Robarts was one of several people arrested on November 22 in an early morning raid on the Head Hunters West chapter pad in View Rd, Henderson.

The raid came after he and others were captured on CCTV riding through the Mobil Wellsford allegedly wearing their patches and riding motorbikes with the gang’s branding.

Police say Robarts is the president of the Head Hunters West chapter and have seized his patch and Harley Davidson motorcycle. Court documents list his occupation as welder.

He did not enter a plea during his first court appearance last month and was remanded at large by community magistrate Fenella Thomas.

He was back in the Waitākere District Court on Thursday where his lawyer Harriet Krebs, acting for Sam Wimsett KC, entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. His next appearance is on February 26 for a case review.

Wimsett did not apply for name suppression for the 61 year old at his first appearance.

Police seized motorcycles and patches in the November raid.

Alleged Head Hunters West chapter president Phillip Robarts during his first appearance in the Waitākere District Court charged with two breaches of the new gang patch ban. Photo / George Block

Police at the Head Hunters West pad in View Rd, Henderson on November 22 in the first raid under the new Gangs Act. Photo / Michael Craig

The raid, understood to be the first under the Gangs Act 2024, came the day after a group of Head Hunters were caught on camera allegedly displaying gang insignia including patches and emblems on their motorcycles while riding through the Mobil petrol station in Wellsford.

Court documents show police allege Robarts was riding his Harley Davidson Street Glide motorcycle bearing Head Hunters insignia at the petrol station in North Auckland while wearing his patch.

Anyone convicted of displaying gang insignia under the new law faces a maximum term of imprisonment of six months or a fine of up to $5000. Their gang insignia including patches are forfeited to the Crown and may be destroyed, Section 7 of the Gangs Act states.

In a raid on the same Head Hunters pad in August, police seized an envelope containing cash. They initially said in a press release the envelope was labelled “drugs profit.”

However, as revealed by the Herald earlier this month, the envelope was in fact labelled “drags profit,” referring to money raised from a motorcycle drag racing event in Meremere.