Ōtorohanga road rage death: Mixed verdicts for Sweeney cousins in manslaughter case

Anthony Takrouna Bell of Te Kuiti (right) died after a fight outside the Mobil service station in Otorohanga in 2021.

A jury has returned mixed verdicts for two cousins charged over the death of Te Kūiti man Anthony Bell, who died outside a petrol station after a road-rage incident.

The jury, in the High Court at Hamilton, took nearly 10 hours to arrive at their verdicts, returning at 2.20pm today, in front of family and friends of the victim.

Frank Sweeney was found guilty on one charge of manslaughter, while Benjamin Sweeney was found not guilty of manslaughter but guilty on charges of assault with a weapon and assault with intent to injure.

What started out as an apparent road-rage incident turned into a fatal fight, which lasted just 39 seconds, between patched Mongrel Mob member cousins Frank and Ben Sweeney and a third man, along with Bell, 34, and his two brothers Ethan and Victor Tumai, on the evening of October 2, 2021.

The Tumai brothers testified they and Bell were only overtaken once by the black Volkswagen Amarok containing the Sweeneys as they headed south on State Highway 3 in Bell’s white work ute between Te Awamutu and Ōtorohanga that evening.

The three Te Kūiti brothers were on the way home from Te Kowhai where they had been to collect a dirt bike for Ethan.

On the way they stopped in Te Awamutu at the Firkin Sports Bar and Ethan and Bell shared three jugs of beer, or three handles each.

The pair had already drunk a box of 15 Export Gold beers earlier in the day and from the pub, they went to a bottle store and bought a pack of 12 pre-mix bourbon and cola drinks.

They then went to Burger King before departing Te Awamutu, which was caught on CCTV.

By chance, moments later the black Amarok ute, containing the Sweeneys and another associate, also left Te Awamutu on State Highway 3.

Ethan Tumai told the court the black ute was “up our arse” tailgating, not far out of Te Awamutu.

Under cross-examination, he maintained the black ute only passed them once, at which point he saw the occupants doing the Mongrel Mob Sieg Heil gesture with their hands, and wearing gang patches.

But defence lawyer Julie-Anne Kincade, KC, put it to both Ethan and Victor, who was the sober driver, that the white ute was swerving so that the black ute could not pass but eventually pulled over to fight, with the black ute speeding off.

This was denied by the brothers.

Kincade said the white ute chased down the black ute, and tailgated it, with the occupants pulling their fingers at the gang members. They also denied this.

She suggested at some point the white ute overtook the black ute and Bell threw his burger wrapping at the black ute.

The black ute passed the white ute on a final passing lane before Ōtorohanga but was slowed down by a truck entering the King Country town, allowing the white ute to catch up.

Ben Sweeney’s ute then pulled up outside the Mobil Service Station on Maniapoto St, which Kincade said was on purpose as Frank wanted whatever happened to be caught on CCTV.

The occupants of both vehicles got out armed with weapons and the fight began with Ben - who donned a German-style war helmet - inflicting a flurry of punches on Bell that sent him to the ground before Sweeney kicked him in the head.

The brawl ended after Bell got to his feet again and Frank Sweeney approached Bell, unleashing a “tremendous blow”, Crown prosecutor Philip Morgan, KC, said on Tuesday.

Bell died at the scene.

Justice Mathew Downs convicted the pair and remanded them for sentencing in May and thanked those in the gallery for remaining quiet as the verdicts were read out.

Members of Bell’s family declined to comment on the verdicts outside court.