Businessman used stungun in 'drug feud'

Max Beckham (left), Mark Rogers and Matthew Woller face a series of charges relating to the alleged kidnapping. Photo / APN

A prominent Northland businessman used a stungun on a man he claimed had stolen two buckets of cannabis from his home while redecorating, a jury has heard.

Max John Beckham, 63, has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, commission of a crime with a firearm, demanding with menace and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

He is jointly charged with Far North man Mark Rogers, who faces an additional charge of possessing explosives.

A third man, Matthew Todd Woller, has denied a charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

A jury of 11 in the Whangarei District Court heard on Tuesday how Beckham, who is a co-owner of the Mangonui ITM Building Centre, went to a rural home 40km from Kaitaia on August 16, 2008, where painter Eugene Young lived with his partner and her two children.

Beckham and two others arrived at the house about 4.20am.

Mr Young told the court how he was woken by his barking dogs and opened his front door to find a man claiming his car battery had gone flat while he and his companions were out pig hunting.

Mr Young saw another man walking around the property and then saw Max Beckham get out of the front passenger's seat of the car.

Mr Young claimed one of the men hit him in the face with a pistol.

"I fell to the ground in the mud and by then Max came up and jumped on me and used a Taser on my neck and shoulders ... it was a burning sensation," he said.

Then a pillowcase was placed over Mr Young's head and taped into place.

He said the men demanded he give back the cannabis Beckham claimed he had stolen earlier in the year when he was painting Beckham's Midgley Rd home - or pay $25,000 by lunchtime that same day.

Beckham said if he didn't, there would be "far-reaching consequences".

He mentioned he knew where the children of Mr Young's partner went to school and where his father lived.

Mr Young told the court Beckham accused him of stealing two 20-litre paint buckets of cannabis.

During cross examination by lawyer Wayne McKean, it was revealed Mr Young had eight convictions for aggravated robbery and another for cultivating cannabis - he was found to have 1033 cannabis plants, a majority of which were seedlings.

It was revealed Mr Young had befriended a female tourist and had robbed banks in order to finance their trip around New Zealand.

Mr Young would walk into a bank, make out he had a gun and rob it.

The woman never knew what he was up to.

Mr McKean put it to Mr Young that he had stolen jewellery from Beckham. The lawyer said Mr Young could not return the jewellery or pay back $4000 he had been paid as an advance on a job, was on active drug charges at the time, and had lied to police about what had happened on August 16 so he could get benefits for his upcoming sentencing.

Mr Young did not agree.

The trial is expected to run into next week.

- APN