A depositions hearing for youth prisoners accused of rioting in Rimutaka Prison continued in Wellington District Court yesterday at an often painstaking pace.
Ten youths face various charges including rioting following an incident in May where rooms at the Upper Hutt prison were barricaded, property destroyed and vandalisedand inmates climbed on to a prison roof and allegedly hurled various objects at staff.
The incident disrupted the prison's youth block for about five hours on May 26 and caused an estimated $400,000 worth of damage.
The accused are Graham Aspinall, Michael Best, Corey Douglas, Navarre Harbour, Teariki Malloy, Ricki McQueen, Danny Joseph Ryder, Raniera Wirihana, Falcon Samuels and Tony Takiari. All face charges of rioting and destroying property. Samuels faces a charge of assault with a blunt instrument and Malloy faces a kidnapping charge.
Prison guards were among those questioned in court about the incident and said the group was out of control.
Prison officer Paul Satherley, who at the time was second in charge of the youth unit, said while on the roof the accused were throwing objects, making Mongrel Mob gestures and noises such as barking like dogs.
Mr Satherley drew the ire of defence lawyers by answering questions in a sometimes hostile manner, particularly when defence lawyers suggested prisoners' actions were a result of sub-standard treatment.
When Mr Satherley said he couldn't say exactly how many people were on the roof with Aspinall at a given time, defence counsel Keith Jefferies pressed him by saying "25? 30? 12? 10? - give me a number". Mr Satherley replied, "Seven hundred and fifty thousand."
Responding to another answer given by Mr Satherley, Mr Jefferies said, "You answer the question and stop being smart please."
All the accused were in the courtroom apart from Best, who was due to make an appearance after travelling up from Christchurch but had an arrest warrant issued for him when he hadn't shown up by midday.
Former Rimutaka prison officer Johannes Roefs, who moved to New Zealand from Holland, said on Tuesday he had left the Corrections Department after the incident because he "didn't like it".
