Gang yelled 'hit him till he dies', court told

Members of a 13-man "retribution posse" yelled "hit him till he dies" in Tongan as they beat a 23-year-old man near to death with a baseball bat, block of wood and hammer in April last year, a court has been told.

Doctors expected Sila Kamoto to die after his skull was fractured in three places and his back was broken in the Mt Roskill brawl on April 2.

Yesterday, the 13 men police say were responsible appeared in the Auckland District Court for the start of a depositions hearing.

They face charges including the attempted murder of Mr Kamoto, wounding his brother Vili with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and assaulting their friend Dallas Shepherd using a hammer and an axe.

Two of them, Chanel Anthony Alo, 20, an apprentice butcher, and Iese Lavea, 25, a storeman, yesterday pleaded guilty to causing Sila Kamoto grievous bodily harm and wounding Vili Kamoto with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

All other charges against the pair were dropped.

Police allege the Kamoto brothers and Mr Shepherd were involved in a fight in the Molly Green Reserve in Mt Roskill with Alo and others that led to minor injuries.

Police say Alo promised to get revenge and rallied friends, including some from the Marist Rugby League clubrooms.

They allegedly drove to where the three men lived in Morrie Laing Ave and challenged them.

Police say Mr Shepherd left after a blow to the head with a sledgehammer and a glancing blow to his leg with an axe.

The Kamoto brothers were left unconscious on the ground, hit in the head by blocks of wood and a baseball bat.

"During this frenzied attack members of the defendants' group were heard to shout in Tongan 'Tai tai tai ke Mate' which means 'hit him till he dies', an agreed summary of facts for Lavea read. The summary says Lavea then hit Sila Kamoto in the head with a hammer.

Alo is said to have sent a text message to his brother saying, "Don't worry about it, we just sorted it, we might have pulled a 187. No shit", a 187 being American slang for murder.

Sila Kamoto spent six weeks in a coma and has brain damage.

The 11 men defending charges are: Euese Lavea, 25, Ahsan Sonny Lavea, 22, Siona Vaihu, 24, Halatau Vaihu, 22, Luaei Joseph Vaihu, 19, Barney Matthew Wikitera, 22, Naputau Simon Wikitera, 18, Ioane John Tuua, 22, Joseph Luamanuvae, 20, Vasa Luamanuvae, 26, and Kelly Stowers, 26.

The hearing before Judge Simon Lockhart, QC, has been set down for four weeks and more than 20 witnesses are expected to be called.