Crown to open case in shooting of gang member in Northland

Nicky Dodd is on trial, accused of the murder of Tribesmen member John Harris. Photo / John Stone

The Crown will open its case this morning in the trial of a Northlander charged with the murder of a gang member.

Nicky Bryan Dodd, 43, is accused of murdering John Henry Harris, who died from a single gunshot wound to his chest on the morning of October 18, 2016.

Harris, 37, a Tribesmen member from Rangiahua in Okaihau, who was also known as John Boy, was dropped off at the St John Ambulance station on Western Hills Dr in Whangarei in a critical condition on the morning of October 18, 2016.

He was loaded into an ambulance but died at the station about 6.40am. The death prompted a large police operation as the ambulance station on Western Hills Drive was cordoned off.

After the jury was selected in the High Court at Whangārei yesterday, Justice Ailsa Duffy indicated she would give them directions at 2.15pm before releasing them while the court sat in chambers.

The jury was told to return this morning when Nicole Dore will open the case on behalf of the Crown.

The trial is set down for four weeks.

Dodd sat relaxed in the dock wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and a blue tie.

He was represented by Julie-Anne Kincade of Auckland.

Harris' family and friends, including his mother Gayleen Harris, were in court and being supported by Victim Support.

Police initially said the shooting was the result of a simmering gang dispute.

A vehicle believed to be at the centre of the dispute was a red 2007 Holden Commodore, registration JCS248, that police believe was towed from an address on Hassard St, Kensington, between 3am and 6am on the day of the shooting.

It was found at a Mower Rd property, north of Whangārei, and was included as part of the three-day forensic examination of the area.

Harris was taken from a Whangārei funeral home to his homestead on Harris Rd in Rahiri Settlement, accompanied by gang members travelling in cars and on motorcycles on October 17, 2016.

The father-of-two's tangi was held at Piki Te Aroha Marae before he was buried at Hutoia Urupa at Rahiri, 13km northwest of Okaihau.