Man denies using firearm during confrontation

The man accused of firing a shotgun blast during a confrontation says no one was meant to bring weapons. Photo / Martin Sykes

A Christchurch man denies he was the one who fired a shotgun blast at a confrontation between groups in Burnside's Jellie Park, saying no one was meant to bring weapons.

The clash between the RAK group and the US group was meant to be one-outs, which refers to one-on-one fighting, a Christchurch District Court jury trial was told today.

Before the court is Mark Daniel Graham Giddens, a 28-year-old concrete worker, who denies charges of being unlawfully in possession of a shotgun in a public place and firing it with reckless disregard for safety.

Crown prosecutor Marcus Zintl told the court that on February 22, 2009, some texts were exchanged between the two groups, and Giddens, who was a member of the RAK group, arranged a one-on-one fight with a member of the US group.

When his group arrived at Jellie Park, Giddens took a shotgun out of the boot of the car he arrived in, and ran into the park following the rest of his group, Mr Zintl said.

They were in a public area near a skate park and the basketball courts.

His group let him through, and he fired the shotgun, which made everyone run away.

Mr Zintl said the texts afterwards said that the RAK group were not to talk about the shooting and the story was to be that the US group fired the shot.

Giddens was told by text that the police armed offenders' squad were at the park looking for him, and the police were outside his house.

In the police interview video, Giddens said when he pulled up the groups were already converging on each other in the middle of the field. He said the fight was in full swing, but that it was supposed to be one-on-one fighting and no-one was supposed to bring weapons.

He admitted to the police that he was at Jellie Park but denied having or firing a firearm.

A witness who was walking along Greers Road said he saw some people carrying golf clubs as weapons, and one man took a gun from the boot of a white car. He phoned the police and told them the registration number of the car and stayed on the phone with them. He said he saw the accused fire the rifle horizontally into the trees on the far side of Jellie Park where another group of people were.

There was a loud sound and some smoke, he said. The men then headed back to their cars and drove away.

Another witness was in the park with her 10-year-old child. She said she saw some of the group had golf clubs and one had a gun. The gun went off and then there was a charge and a big fight with hitting and wrestling.

In his interview with the police, Giddens explained that group members from New Brighton, Woolston, and the eastern suburbs were known as RAKS, and the US boys were from Parklands and Papanui.

The trial before Judge David Saunders and a jury is expected to finish tomorrow.

- NZPA