11.45am
Three of six men charged in relation to a gang-related shooting in the Bay of Plenty last July have walked free after a month-long trial at the High Court in Rotorua.
Yesterday a jury of eight women and four men returned its verdicts after three days of deliberation.
The six gang members and their associates each pleaded not guilty to 11 charges related to the attempted murders of four Black Power members during a shooting in Taneatua near Whakatane on July 8 last year.
Rotorua police were scattered inside and outside the courtroom to assist court security staff in case tension erupted as the verdicts were delivered.
But neither the public in the gallery nor the six accused reacted to the verdicts as they were read out over a period of 15 minutes.
The jury found Steven Tipene Tihi, 27, unemployed, Hira Bush, 28, unemployed and Fabian Jessie Mika, 16, unemployed, all from Taneatua, each not guilty of all 11 charges. Justice Heath discharged the three men without conviction.
Haydn Gage, 33, unemployed, of Ruatoki, Ngata Turupa Hauwaho, 24, unemployed and Robert Daniels, 37, unemployed, both of Taneatua were each found guilty of eight of the 11 charges.
They included participating in an organised criminal group, unlawful possession of a firearm, discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, three charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and two charges of attempted murder.
They were each found not guilty of two other charges of attempted murder and one charge of attempted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Following the verdicts, Justice Heath requested victim impact statements and pre-sentence reports.
He remanded the three men in custody for sentencing on August 27.
Justice Heath exempted the jurors who tried the accused from serving on another jury for five years.
At the start of the trial, during which the Crown called 90 witnesses, armed police patrolled the streets surrounding the courthouse to provide extra security. They had scaled down their presence until yesterday.
Rotorua police area commander Inspector Bruce Horne said police outside the courthouse made 18 arrests -- not all in relation to the trial -- in the first week.
- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)
Three walk free after gang shooting trial
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