Shooting accused on 'homicidal mission' jury told

Sergeant Don Wilkinson. Photo / Supplied

Two men accused of murdering an undercover police officer in south Auckland in 2008 were on a "homicidal mission," the Crown alleged at their trial in the High Court at Auckland today.

Crown prosecutor Simon Moore SC said John Skinner and Iain Clegg, who are charged with the murder of undercover policeman Don Wilkinson, were two fit, young men who decided to take the law into their own hands.

"These men weren't scared or threatened. These were two very angry, aggressive, violent young men who decided they'd run these intruders down.

"They were on a homicidal mission," Mr Moore said in his closing address.

Prosecutors allege Skinner, 38, shot Sergeant Don Wilkinson and another police officer, who has name suppression, with an airgun in Mangere on September 11, 2008.

Skinner and Clegg, 36, chased the officers after they tried to plant a tracking device on a car at Skinner's house, the Crown said.

The pair are also charged with the attempted murder of Mr Wilkinson's colleague and Skinner with assault with a firearm.

Mr Moore said Skinner and Clegg were guilty of murdering Mr Wilkinson and attempting to murder his colleague as they intended to either kill them, or cause them serious harm they knew could be fatal.

Skinner's lawyer, Marie Dyhrberg, has said her client thought the policemen were intruders and reacted to that in self-defence.

Clegg's lawyer, Stuart Grieve, QC, said his client did not kill Mr Wilkinson and did not try to kill his police colleague.

Clegg acted on his own when he pursued two men he thought were burglars, and did not know anything about what Skinner was going to do, Mr Grieve said.

Clegg's only action was to hit Mr Wilkinson's colleague with his fist before Skinner came from behind him and to one side and then fired the shots, he said.

- NZPA