Napier Courthouse where the alleged attacker appeared on Wednesday. Photo / File
Napier Courthouse where the alleged attacker appeared on Wednesday. Photo / File
A 35-year old charged after an attack on a man who stopped to help a distressed woman on a highway between Napier and Hastings has been granted interim name suppression.
The man faces charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to a man aged in his 70s,kidnapping a woman by causing her to be confined against her will, injuring the woman with intent to injure and possessing cannabis for the purpose of supply.
The charges follow an incident on State Highway 51 at Awatoto, about 4.30am on Sunday.
A woman had allegedly being chased by the accused, in what police described as a family harm incident. The older man is believed to have stopped to assist the woman.
He was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital in a serious condition and was transferred to Wellington Hospital on Tuesday, when he was reported to be in a stable condition.
The accused appeared in court on Monday before a Justice of the Peace, and was remanded in custody pending an appearance before Judge Gordon Matenga on Wednesday.
After considering submissions from defence counsel Matthew Phelps, the judge remanded the man in continued custody without pleas to reappear on October 19.
There was no opposition from the police to the application for continued interim name suppression.
