Two Auckland brothers found guilty of serious assaults at Bahama Hut

Two brothers found guilty of assaulting two patrons at Bahama Hut bar in early hours of October 1, 2017. Photo/File

Two Auckland brothers have been found guilty of seriously assaulting two people at the Bahama Hut bar.

Rocky Ronaki, 31, who was on trial in Tauranga District Court this week, was found guilty by a jury of one charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

His victim Logan Abbott was stabbed inside the smoking area of the Bahama Hut in the early hours of October 1 last year during a brief violent episode, the jury heard.

Abbott, who was stabbed just below his ribs, was treated at Tauranga Hospital for a 1cm long laceration to his liver but has made a full recovery, the court heard.

Rocky Ronaki claimed he only used the knife he had brought with him to get people to back off after things "got messy" in the bar and he and his brother came under attack.

A wall of people began coming towards his group, which included his brother Kiore Ronaki and his brother's partner in an "aggressive and threatening" manner, he said.

He insisted that he was unaware Abbott had been stabbed until police questioned him at the Tauranga police station and repeatedly denied he had intended to hurt anyone.

Rocky Ronaki was acquitted on a further charge of assault against a female patron.

His brother Kiore Ronaki, 29, was also found guilty of one charge of assault with intent to injure after a female patron was punched unconscious by at least two blows.

Kiore claimed he had only thrown "one punch" after stepping in to defend his partner.

He was found not guilty of a further charge of assault with the weapon, namely the knife.

Kiore Ronaki, who the Crown alleged was a party to the stabbing incident, was discharged on that matter by Judge Thomas Ingram part way through the trial.

Judge Ingram said he was satisfied there was no evidence Kiore knew his older brother intended to brandish the knife or use it to cause serious harm to anyone.

Crown prosecutor Richard Jenson successfully argued there had been "nothing defensive" about the brothers' actions and the force used went well beyond what was reasonable.

Lawyers for the accused argued that the Crown had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt their clients were not acting in self-defence.

Some Crown witnesses' evidence was "unreliable" due to their intoxication, and one witness accepted she could have been mistaken about who did what that night.

Judge Ingram sentenced Kiore Ronaki to 18 months' prison but due to time spent behind bars awaiting trial, he will be released back into community almost immediately.

Rocky Ronaki was remanded in custody for sentencing on November 14.