Charles Pongi, 32, was shot dead after a gang fight at a suburban park in Auckland spiralled out of control in August 2023. Photo / Hayden Woodward.
It was supposed to be a one-on-one scrap to settle a personal beef.
Waiting at the northern end of Taurima Reserve, a park in the east Auckland suburb of Pt England, were 20 members and associates of the Head Hunters motorcycle gang.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in August 2023, the Head Hunters were there to support one of their own in an arranged fight with someone from a rival gang.
But the Rebels outlaw motorcycle club and their allies FITUS, a South Auckland street gang, had other ideas.
In a show of strength as they entered traditional Head Hunter territory, the FITUS-Rebels alliance travelled from the Rebels gang pad in Otahuhu in a convoy of 22 vehicles.
Before their departure, the war party had been addressed by Ray Elise, the president of the Rebels chapter in Mangere, who had driven from Rotorua for the occasion.
As they arrived at Taurima Reserve, most were wearing balaclavas or bandanas and, in a sign of things to come, at least one was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Around 40 or 50 FITUS-Rebels members entered the southern end of the park, and sent some forward in an advance group across the field to confront the Head Hunters.
The one-on-one fight turned into a melee, where the Head Hunters soon realised they were outnumbered.
They called for backup. Waiting on a nearby street, was a masked man carrying a pistol.
He ran into the park and fired eight shots at close range, injuring at least two members of the FITUS-Rebels group involved in the fist fight.
In response, a second wave of FITUS-Rebels entered the park.
One of them was George Mahoni, wearing a bulletproof vest, and carrying a military-style semi-automatic weapon.
He opened fire within 10 seconds of the Head Hunter shooting his pistol, while others also fired their guns repeatedly at their retreating rivals.
One of those struck in the firefight was Charles Pongi.
The patched Head Hunter was not taking part in the fight, but was behind the pistol shooter from his gang.
Pongi was hit by a single .22 calibre bullet and died in Auckland Hospital.
The FITUS-Rebels group continued to fire their weapons after the threat from the Head Hunters had abated.
Later that night, FITUS members gathered at Sturges Park in Otahuhu and then at the nearby Phoenix Tavern to celebrate. One of the senior members, Lika Feterika, gave a speech thanking the group for “coming out” and “pulling through”.
The death of Pongi led to a homicide investigation and the arrests of four members of FITUS: Mahoni, Feterika, Vili Laungaue and the gang’s leader Devonte Iakapo.
The evidence given at the High Court trial in Auckland this year showed that only Mahoni fired a gun at Taurima Reserve, and even then, police could not prove his rifle fired the fatal bullet.
Despite that, all four men were convicted as parties to murder as well as other firearm or violent crimes after a High Court trial in Auckland that ended in September. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a fifth defendant, Vini Mahoni.
‘You knew that members of your group were in possession of firearms and that the violent confrontation could well result in one in which the Head Hunters group was shot in circumstances amounting to murder,” Justice Greg Blanchard told Feterika at the sentencing hearing.
“This is exactly what happened. You did not need to be at the reserve. It was a Saturday afternoon in a public place. You were there to engage in a violent confrontation with the Head Hunters.”
An aggravating feature of the shooting was the high risk to the public as the park is surrounded by residential properties, Justice Blanchard said.
The High Court judge sentenced all the FITUS members to life imprisonment.
Mahoni and Feterika will serve 11 and a half years and 10 and a half years in prison respectively, before being eligible for parole.
As well as being convicted of murder, Laungaue was found guilty of threatening grievous bodily harm, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
He also pleaded guilty to three charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, threatening to kill, and threatening to do grievous bodily harm.
Laungaue, who was 20 at the time of the offending, will serve at least 10 ½ years before being eligible for parole.
Iakapo, the FITUS leader, also pleaded guilty to two charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, as well as unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm.
He will serve 12 ½ years of a life sentence for murder before being eligible for parole.
Jared Savage covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006 and has won a dozen journalism awards in that time, including twice being named Reporter of the Year. He is also the author of Gangland, Gangster’s Paradise and Underworld.