An aerial view of Rimutaka Prison, where rioters caused hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage last year. File photo / Mark Mitchell
Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage was caused during a five hour riot by inmates at Upper Hutt's Rimutaka Prison last year, Wellington District Court was told today.
Graham Phillip Aspinall, Tony Waru Takiari and Raniera Maia Wirihana are on trial on charges of rioting and
causing damage during an incident at the prison's youth wing on May 26, 2007 which lasted five hours and caused $410,000 worth of damage.
The court was today shown video footage and heard from Corrections Department officers who recalled how inmates had become angry when it was announced the wing was going into lockdown after one prisoner allegedly rushed at prison officers, brandishing a broomstick.
They barricaded doorways and smashed windows before making their way on to the prison's roof through a broken vent.
It was not clear exactly how many were on the roof.
Once on the roof they began throwing things at officers below and smashing everything they could get their hands on.
Prison officer Renee Green told the court her jacket was taken and prisoners took turns wearing it.
She said not all the prisoners wanted to be involved in the riot and four had given themselves up early on.
One prisoner was dragged on to the roof and held down by another prisoner.
Aspinall's lawyer Keith Jeffries said his client had been forced on to the roof at knifepoint by a fellow prisoner who had stopped in the kitchen to arm himself.
Several prison officers were today grilled on whether they had seen the three accused taking part in the riot and up on the roof.
Paul Satherley, a member of the prison riot squad, told the court he saw Wirihana yelling and breaking parts off the roof and Takiari pacing the roof with his shirt off.
He denied a claim Aspinall was a reluctant participant as he had seen him holding a broomstick, barking, making Mongrel Mob gang signs and calling to female guards to "show us your tits".
"That's bullshit," Aspinall whispered from the dock.
The riot ended when guards distracted the prisoners on one side of the building while the riot squad entered from the other.
The trial is expected to finish early next week.
Six other prisoners pleaded guilty to rioting in November last year.
- NZPA
