KEY POINTS:
The father of slain Wanganui toddler Jhia Te Tua appeared in court yesterday on a charge of using a firearm against a police officer.
Joshua Mano Hakaraia Te Tua, 22, appeared at a depositions hearing in Wanganui District Court following an incident where an officer was allegedly shot at as he approached a car he had been pursuing.
Police allege there were at least three people in the car when it pulled over after being chased through Wanganui on May 9 last year, The Dominion Post reported.
Police dog handler Constable Martin Kilpatrick said as he approached the car he saw a shape come out of the rear passenger window and then saw a flash and heard a loud bang.
The car took off and the occupants later abandoned it and escaped on foot but were allegedly recognised by a witness.
Te Tua and Lane Halcombe Goff, 22, are charged with using a firearm against a police officer. A third man, Dennis Rodney Matthews, 26, is charged with discharging a firearm.
Te Tua, a Black Power gang member who has Jhia's name tattooed on his face, lost her two months later when Mongrel Mob affiliates allegedly pulled up outside their house and fired shots at it - one hitting her in the chest.
The depositions hearing continues.
- NZPA
