Fourth man sentenced to prison after violent gang de-patching ends in death

Killed by fellow gang members - Codi Wilkinson was a young father of three. Photo / Supplied

A fourth man has been given prison time for his role in the death of a fellow gang member.

Dean Jennings was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday for his part in the death of a junior Mongrel Mob member in 2019, as part of a violent de-patching.

Former Napier man Codi Wilkinson and fellow junior gang member Kyle Rowe robbed a local meth dealer of his "product" and cash.

But the person they stole from, known as Mr X, was a close associate of their own gang's president.

The pair then lied to Mongrel Mob Manawatu president Jeremiah Christopher Su'a about their involvement, and they didn't share the profits of their theft.

Su'a watched CCTV footage of the theft at Mr X's house and identified Wilkinson and Rowe as being involved.

As retaliation for the robbery of his friend, Su'a gathered gang associates, including his brother Mariota Su'a, Quentin Joseph Moananui and Jason David Signal, to carry out a de-patching for Wilkinson and Rowe, where they would be effectively kicked out of the gang.

The pair were located and severely beaten and attacked with a machete and then driven to an address in Ashurst.

Rowe was placed in the front seat and Wilkinson in the boot of the vehicle.

On arrival at the address Rowe managed to flee, finding a member of the public who drove him to hospital.

It's not clear what happened to Wilkinson, but he was found dead in some bushes near the house two weeks later.

According to the judge's summary, Wilkinson received multiple lacerations and likely died from blood loss.

Appearing in the High Court at Palmerston North in July last year, Jeremiah Su'a was sentenced to 15 years, six months in prison; Mariota Su'a to 12 years, nine months, and Moananui to 10 years, two months for the manslaughter of Wilkinson.

On Monday at that same court, Dean Jennings received three years for helping his president carry out the offending.

Justice Helen Cull said Jennings didn't take part in any of the beatings of the two junior gang members, but as a senior member of the Mongrel Mob he knew that a de-patching typically involved extreme violence.

"You were co-opted into the plan. While you must have been involved in the pre-meditation, there's no evidence to suggest that weapons would be involved," she said.

"You say your involvement was fear of disobeying orders. You lent support by your presence."

Justice Cull said Jennings and the other four members of the group who conducted the de-patching were later seen drinking beer and eating pizza, with Jennings seen wearing Rowe's confiscated patch.

Wilkinson's grandfather Wayne Ewington said in a victim impact statement read to the court the death of his grandson was a life sentence for the family.

"We feel empty, sad and drained. Codi was tortured, bashed, cut, dumped and left to die alone in pain and in the cold."

Wilkinson's mother, Kara, said Codi had been her first son, his brutal death leaving her feeling like her own heart had been "ripped away".