Murder-accused trio appear in High Court over death of Te Puke man Tristan Oakes

Three men charged with the murder of 29-year-old Tristan Oakes are pleading not guilty.

As the three men charged with the murder of Tristan “Eru” Oakes in Te Puke stood in the dock today, Oakes’ whānau stood in the public gallery, looking straight at them.

In the High Court at Tauranga, defendants Joseph Yorke, Kanan Clarke and Te Waiari Kapereira Mana Watson entered not guilty pleas to all charges they faced.

At the start of the hearing, Crown prosecutor Richard Jenson acknowledged this was the first time Oakes’ whānau had been present at a court appearance in relation to his death.

Police have said Oakes was found critically injured from a gunshot wound at his Te Puke home on October 25 and died in Tauranga Hospital the next day.

Police initially jointly charged 39-year-old Clarke and 40-year-old Yorke with murdering Oakes.

The pair now also face joint charges, laid last week, that include burglary, kidnapping, and disfiguring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, which they have now denied.

The latter two charges relate to allegations the pair unlawfully detained and disfigured another man in Te Puke between January 1 and March 17.

Watson, 24, is jointly accused of murder and burglary.

Three other men, also jointly charged with burglary, appeared in court after the three murder defendants.

Billyboy William Whare, 30, James Anderson, 29, and Jaye Wera Manley, 33, denied the burglary charge.

It relates to an allegation that the six men unlawfully entered an enclosed yard on Manoeka Rd in Te Puke on October 25.

All six defendants were remanded in custody.

Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail, and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.