Fatal brawl was major gang confrontation, says judge

A brawl in which a man died was a major gang confrontation, a judge said in Whakatane District Court yesterday.

Judge Christopher Harding was sentencing six men for their involvement in a Whakatane street brawl on May 25, which culminated in the fatal stabbing of a 20-year-old Mongrel Mob associate, Te Rangi Tait Carroll, and the assault of his associate Laurie Davis.

Four of the men -- Quintin Ahui Kerr, 19, Christopher Andrew Kiwara, 20, John Michael Karaka, 20, all of Whakatane, and Aden Kevin Ohlson, 23, of Rotiti -- appeared for sentencing on a charge of assaulting Mr Davis with the intention of injuring him on May 25.

Counsel Stephen Clews said their involvement in the brawl was at the lower end of the scale and involved punching and kicking the victim. They had not been antagonists or respondents.

It was also important that the defendants' gang involvement was put in context, he said.

"This is not a case of typical gang violence in the sense that one gang confronts another."

Mr Clews said the prisoners were not a gang, they were a group of people going about their lawful business, having a good time. However, it was a fact of life that parts of the community identified with a particular gang, Mr Clews said.

He maintained that Mr Davis and his associate, Mr Carroll, had set out to cause trouble on the night of the brawl. Mr Davis had shouted Mongrel Mob chants, threatened and taunted people, including two of the defendants, in the street and raised gang affiliations.

Mr Clews said Mr Carroll and Mr Davis were carrying knives. In contrast, none of the defendants had been armed.

"The only weapons that were used that night were bottles and the deceased's own knife -- that points to the relevant attitudes adopted that night."

Judge Harding said that while there had not been a predetermined plan to attack members of another gang, the brawl had ended up being a major gang confrontation.

On May 27, Mr Davis, had retaliated by twice shooting a member of the Black Power gang. He had been convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison for that offence.

"This was gang-related offending, which involved a large group attacking a small number," Judge Harding said.

Although the defendants' offending was at the minor end of the scale, they appeared in court for their part in a confrontation that resulted in one man being killed and another man in hospital.

Judge Harding sentenced Karaka to 14 months' jail, Ohlson to 13 months' jail, Kiwara to 12 months' jail and Kerr to nine months' jail. Kerr and Ohlson were granted leave to apply for home detention.

A fifth man, Edward Frank Delamare, 31, of Whakatane, was sentenced to 14 months' jail on charges of threatening to kill and injuring with intent. He was also sentenced to 12 months' jail, to be served cumulatively for unlawful possession of a molotov cocktail.

Louis William Tangira, 32, of Whakatane, was sentenced to 200 hours community service on a lesser charge of assaulting Mr Davis and a further 40 hours community service for possessing cannabis.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)