Rameka Joseph Rangi-Te Rito was among Southland Mongrel Mob members who kidnapped and assaulted one of their own at the Mataura clubhouse.
Rameka Joseph Rangi-Te Rito was among Southland Mongrel Mob members who kidnapped and assaulted one of their own at the Mataura clubhouse.
A patched gang member suffered a collapsed lung, fractured eye socket and fractured ribs after a beating that lasted several hours and involved various weapons, including a hammer and a child’s bike.
The Mongrel Mob attack in 2022 was during a period of violent offending by the chapter acrossseveral months.
Today, Rameka Joseph Rangi-Te Rito appeared in the High Court at Christchurch to be sentenced for kidnapping.
Rangi-Te Rito, and at least another eight patched members and associates of the Aotearoa chapter, arrived at the 28-year-old victim’s Invercargill address while he was at home with his children.
The summary of facts revealed the victim was told to get into a “Mob car” but instead ran into a shed on the property where he was assaulted by members who delivered a series of kicks and punches to his body, head and face.
Various items in the shed, including a child’s bicycle, pieces of timber and tools were used during the assault.
He was dragged out to the car while Rangi-Te Rito was in another car that followed behind.
The court heard he was taken to the Mataura Mongrel Mob pad where he suffered further injuries.
He was then driven to the house of chapter captain Turoirangi Harmer-Elers who told him if he didn’t comply with sanctions placed on him, he would be assaulted again.
A member was directed to take him to Gore Hospital, but en route, changed their mind and decided to drop him back at home.
He pleaded with the driver to take him to hospital and was eventually dropped off where he was assessed as in a serious condition and transferred to Southland Hospital.
The court heard Rangi-Te Rito, 40, had been on bail since the August 2022 incident. He had no previous convictions, was a father of six, and had since been employed.
Rangi-Te Rito still connected to the gang
Justice Jonathan Eaton said Rangi-Te Rito had a commitment and loyalty to the gang, which led to “nasty and stand-over offending” against somebody he probably knew.
Justice Eaton said that while Rangi-Te Rito had not severed ties with the gang, he had engaged with help and secured employment.
Police described Operation Pakari as a complex, detailed investigation into violent offending by the gang across several months.
The first incident, in late January 2022, spurred further offences in the form of drive-by shootings and violent assaults, which left people with critical injuries.
Police execute search warrants at the Mataura pad in June 2023. Photo / Supplied
The termination of the operation in June 2023 resulted in 21 people being put before the courts on a range of charges.
Six Mongrel Mob members went on trial in Christchurch in July on 12 charges, including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, kidnapping, and injuring with intent to injure.
The victims of the assaults were Mongrel Mob members and in most cases, unco-operative with police.
Crown lawyers have applied for a forfeiture order covering the gang headquarters and a next-door section in Albion St, with a combined rateable value of $347,000.
Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the NZ Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in NZ and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.
