League player has his plea denied

Bronson Stevens appeared in the Whangarei District Court for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to one charge of unlawful assembly in relation to a brawl by rival gangs in central Kaikohe. Photo / Imran Ali

A promising Northland rugby league player's impassioned plea for a discharge without conviction to travel overseas as a professional sportsman in the future was kicked into touch by a judge.

Bronson Stevens, 20, appeared in the Whangarei District Court for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to one charge of unlawful assembly in relation to a brawl by rival gangs in central Kaikohe. The Crown withdrew a charge of possession of a weapon.

A day before Stevens appeared in court, Judge John McDonald sentenced three people involved in the mass brawl to jail and ordered two others to find suitable home detention addresses or else go to prison. They were either members or associates of the Tribesman and Bloods gangs.

Stevens' lawyer, Wayne McKean, applied for a discharge without conviction on a number of grounds, saying Stevens was not associated with any gang and was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mr McKean said his client was driving through Kaikohe on his way to a league match and pulled up at the Z service station to fill up after the brawl broke out.

Although Stevens picked up a spanner, he said there was no suggestion he used it to threaten or hit anyone with it, and he picked up the weapon in self-defence, Mr McKean said.

He said Stevens - a father of twins - was starting a career as a builder and was close to getting a trial with the Junior Warriors rugby league team which would involve him travelling to Australia. Mr McKean said a criminal conviction could prove problematic for Stevens to travel to Australia in light of the country's recent hardline against Kiwis detained on Christmas Island.

But Crown prosecutor Nicole Dore said whatever the reasons were for Stevens' presence at the service station, he "stepped into the fray" which must be marked by a conviction. The consequences of a conviction in terms of his future job prospects or travel overseas were speculative, she submitted.

Judge McDonald agreed.

By pleading guilty to the charge, he said Stevens has accepted his presence at the service station with others was for the purpose of a fight or confrontation.

Judge McDonald said there was no guarantee Stevens would get selected in either the Northern Swords or the Junior Warriors teams. He ordered Stevens to find a suitable home detention address within three weeks or go to jail for six months.