Third man in court over kidnapping

A third man has appeared in court and on connection with a kidnapping in Taranaki on Wednesday.

Thomas Teruihi Skipper, 17, of Inglewood, entered no plea to charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and theft of petrol when he appeared in New Plymouth District Court yesterday.

He was remanded on bail to reappear in court on April 9 with his two co-accused, Jerome Teumuera Edwards, 18, of Inglewood, and Matthew Kane Tett, 18, of no fixed address, The Taranaki Daily News reported.

They appeared in court on Thursday and were remanded without plea in custody.

The trio allegedly held up three people in a car at gunpoint and then forced them to drive towards Waitara.

A man and a woman were released a short time later and the man called police.

The third was found about midnight just outside Waitara.

But police said yesterday they established through their inquiries that he had been involved in the kidnapping and he was one of the two men who appeared in court on Thursday.

The motive for the alleged kidnap is unknown.

- NZPA