A Whangarei man who allegedly sparked a three-hour stand-off with armed police in the central city on Sunday has been remanded in custody. Colin Taylor Latoa, 42, entered no plea to charges of threatening to kill and resisting arrest when he appeared in front of Judge Thomas Everitt in theWhangarei District Court yesterday. Judge Everitt remanded Latoa in custody until October 4 for the preparation of a psychiatric report. Latoa was arrested after he had barricaded himself in a flat attached to a tattoo business in Water St, Whangarei, on Sunday afternoon. He also allegedly made "bizarre threats" to police during a phone conversation at the time. Latoa was also alleged to have had bladed weapons in the flat and had doused himself in accelerant and refused to come out. The stand-off saw Water St cordoned off. Latoa said in court yesterday that the Auckland Remand Centre and the Whangarei Hospital did not have the people or the facilities capable of dealing with him. He said he had been going to do a cleansing at Spirits Bay, between Cape Reinga and Hooper Pt on the northern coastline of the Aupouri Peninsula this weekend to rid himself of the drugs and alcohol he had taken within the last few months. Latoa claimed he had an IQ of 240 and the police had "no clue what they are up against". He said the moko covering his face made him "wahi tapu" - a sacred place. Judge Everitt said Latoa's alleged behaviour on September 19 had raised the possibility of him being treated in a hospital. However a report had indicated that Latoa was not disturbed enough to be hospitalised, Judge Everitt said.
