Ten people are on trial for the murder of Tauranga man Mitchell Te Kani (Inset). Photo / Main Montage - NZME/Mike Scott, Inset / Supplied
Ten people are on trial for the murder of Tauranga man Mitchell Te Kani (Inset). Photo / Main Montage - NZME/Mike Scott, Inset / Supplied
A 51-year-old man was killed during an attack that allegedly started when five carloads of Mongrel Mob members and associates descended on a Tauranga property in what the Crown has described as an orchestrated act of retaliation.
Mitchell Te Kani was fatally struck to the side of the head with a crowbar and suffered a brain injury after falling back onto the concrete driveway of his whānau’s Maungatapu Rd, Tauranga, property on the night of May 14, 2022.
Ten people are now on trial in the High Court at Hamilton all charged with his murder, and some are facing varying levels of assault and obstructing justice charges, after they allegedly turned up with various weapons.
They are Kevin Allan Bailey and Shem Williams, both from Gate Pa; Mihaka Ratahi, of Pāpāmoa; Kiri Mereina Pini and Bodine Umuroa, from Parkvale; Hamiora Bennett from Brookfield; Huntly man Jahvaun Te Ari Layne; Jamie Robin Thomas, of Rotorua, and Witaiawa Robinson and Samuel Mark Milosi of Tauranga.
The courtroom itself was packed on the opening day; the defendants scattered throughout not only the dock but also the public gallery with each having a Corrections Officer sat on either side of them.
Every desk and chair in the courtroom has also been filled with lawyers – 21 – while more than a day was dedicated to choosing the jury, which eventually saw five women and seven men chosen.
The trial is set down for eight weeks and the first witness will be called tomorrow.
May 14, 2022
In his opening address this afternoon, crown solicitor Duncan McWilliam told the jury that Pini and the victim’s brother Thomas Te Kani, who was also allegedly assaulted in the attack, had been in a long-term relationship up until 2017 and had three children together.
When Pini went to the Te Kani property in early May, she and Thomas had an argument that resulted in him smashing some windows of her car.
“She told him she was going to make him pay for that,” McWilliam told the jury.
On May 14, 2022, there was also another significant event happening – the unveiling for former senior Mongrel Mob member “Socks” Taikato, which attracted members from around the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
They had been drinking at the GC bar in Greerton before they moved on to an unveiling party in Ohauiti Rd.
Meanwhile, Umuroa and Pini turned up at the Te Kani whānau’s Maungatapu Rd property at about 10.20pm, with Umuroa armed with a small wrench. The pair demanded to see Thomas but he wasn’t home.
In a cellphone video, Umuroa is allegedly heard saying “tell the homie he owes”, “I’m gonna waste the c***”, and “I will come back tomorrow with carloads of Mongrel Mob ... unless you f***ing sort it out”.
The Crown told the jury none of the Te Kani whānau were members or associated with the Mongrel Mob.
McWilliam said eight of the 10 defendants, however, were patched members. One was the partner of a member and another was an associate.
His whānau tried to tell them Thomas wasn’t home and there was a confrontation; Pini today admitted assaulting her daughter by “rag dolling” her, while Umuroa is fighting a charge of assaulting Thomas’ father, Korau, by pushing him in the chest.
The court heard the Te Kani whānau and friends pleaded with the pair to leave and as they were walking down the driveway, Thomas turned up.
McWilliam said a fight then allegedly ensued during which Thomas was said to have gotten the better of Umuroa and taken a wrench off him.
Pini then allegedly told Thomas, “You’re f***ed now, they are coming”.
Ten people are on trial in the High Court at Hamilton accused of the murder of Mitchell Te Kani in Tauranga in 2022.
McWilliam alleged Umuroa said, “I will come back with the Rogues”, which he submitted was a statement of intent, to go and recruit members of the gang from the after-party.
CCTV shortly afterwards shows five carloads of gang members returning to the property, armed with bottles, an iron bar, a hatchet, and a crowbar.
Neighbours will also give evidence during the trial about hearing them walk up the long driveway, and shortly after 30 calls were made to 111, including multiple by the Te Kani whānau, with the first call made at 10.57pm.
Thomas met the gang members on the driveway and McWilliam said he tried, unsuccessfully, to stop them going any further.
They formed a line and are alleged to have thrown bottles and smashed windows of vehicles.
“The Te Kani whānau were outnumbered. This group continued to advance,” he told the jury.
One of the defendants was bitten by the family dog on the leg, while whānau of the victim filmed footage on their cellphones.
The fight escalated and Thomas ran over to his brother Mitchell’s side, while another victim ran through the family home and out a window to escape an alleged attacker.
Korau Te Kani was allegedly struck on the head with a weapon, while Isaiah Hewitt, a partner of one of the sisters, was allegedly punched, kicked, dragged by his hair, and hit on the head.
One of the group is alleged to have then turned to where Mitchell and Thomas were standing and swung the crowbar, narrowly missing Thomas but striking Mitchell on the side of the head. He fell backwards onto the concrete and didn’t get back up.
Thomas then tried to cover his brother with his own body as more punches rained down on them, and he recalled Pini saying, “That’s him, that’s him”.
The attack was all over in about 10 minutes.
Mitchell was left dead on the driveway. Thomas had multiple injuries and his father needed treatment for a gash on his forehead.
“Not one of the defendants had any lawful reason to be on the Te Kani whānau property that night. Eight of the defendants didn’t even know the Te Kani family,” said McWilliam.
“The 10 were there for one reason – that was for retaliation of an incident about 20 minutes earlier.”
Several defendants were also injured; Bailey had surgery for a head wound, Ratahi was hospitalised for a cut to his forehead, while Layne was treated for the dog bite.
McWilliam said a lot of the case involved forensic evidence from DNA and blood found at the scene and on confiscated clothing, including gang vests.
He told the jury that as the murder charge was jointly laid, the Crown didn’t have to identify who carried out the fatal assault, but the jury had to be sure, beyond a reasonable doubt, that it was intentional or the accused were reckless the attack might kill Mitchell, but carried on with it anyway.
Ratahi and Williams are also facing charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice after Ratahi called Williams and talked about the latter cleaning his vehicle that was used on the night Mitchell died and removing any links to any gang member.
They’re also alleged to have discussed what to tell police when they called.
Ratahi’s other charges relate to him telling another person, Haimona Ormsby, who is not involved in the trial, to clean his Mongrel Mob Brotherhood gang patched vest and a pair of shoes.
David Pawson, on behalf of Umuroa, urged the jury to keep an open mind throughout the trial and when it came to assessing the murder charge, suggested they wouldn’t find enough evidence to convict him.
Gangs were also “a fact of life in New Zealand”, he said.
“And in that context keep your mind open. Just because you are a member of a gang that doesn’t make you a murderer.”
Ben Smith, for Williams, said there were effectively 10 different trials going and each defendant was different, “that’s feelings, motivation, and actions”.
He asked them to keep an eye on what the evidence showed and what his client did or didn’t do.
Bodine Jackson Umuroa of Parkvale. Photo / Mike Scott
Bodine Umuroa, Parkvale, 43, is defending nine charges; murder, aggravated burglary, threatening to do grievous bodily harm x2, assault, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, wounding causing grievous bodily harm (WGBH) x2.
Kiri Mereina Pini, of Parkvale. Photo / Mike Scott
Kiri Pini, of Parkvale, 42, fighting six charges; murder, aggravated burglary, injuring with intent to injure, assault intent injure, WGBH x2,
This morning she pleaded guilty to assaulting Mahura Te Kani on May 14, 2022.
Kevin Allan Isaac Haimona Tunui Bailey of Gate Pa. Photo / Mike Scott
Kevin Bailey, Gate Pa, 30, defending five charges; murder, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, WGBH x2.
Hamiora John Te Moana Bennett of Brookfield. Photo / Mike Scott
Hamiora Bennett, Brookfield, 35, defending five charges; murder, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, WGBH x2.
Jahvaun Te Ari Layne, Huntly. Photo / Mike Scott
Jahvaun Layne, Huntly, 28, defending five charges; murder, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, WGBH x2.
Samuel Mark Milosi of Tauranga. Photo / Mike Scott
Samuel Milosi, Tauranga, 21, defending five charges; murder, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, WGBH x2.
Mihaka Ratahi, Papamoa. Photo / Mike Scott
Mihaka Ratahi, Papamoa, 32, defending nine charges; murder, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, WGBH x2, murder, two of attempting and one of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
He pleaded guilty to a third charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice on May 18, 2022, by telling a co-offender he would help with a false statement to police about his involvement in the death of Mitchell Te Kani.
Witaiawa Robinson, Tauranga. Photo / Mike Scott
Witaiawa Robinson, Tauranga, 26, defending five charges of murder, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, WGBH x2.
Jamie Robin Manakitia Te Aroha Thomas, Rotorua. Photo / Mike Scott
Jamie Thomas, Rotorua, 38, murder, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, WGBH x2.
Shem Williams, Tauranga. Photo / Mike Scott
Shem Williams, Gate Pa, 32, defending seven charges; murder, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, attempting and conspiring to pervert the course of justice, and WGBH x2.
