Suspect in security guard killing denied bail

Charanpreet Dhaliwal. Photo / Supplied

A man accused of murdering a security guard has been denied bail after police argued he could interfere with witnesses in the case, many of whom live close to his home.

The 27-year-old man, whose name is suppressed, is alleged to have murdered security guard Charanpreet Dhaliwal, who was working his first shift at an Auckland building site, in November last year.

Judge Lisa Tremewan today ruled the accused posed a bail risk, even with electronic monitoring that would have seen him subject to a 24-hour curfew.

Defence lawyer Lorraine Smith told Waitakere District Court her client "denies injuring or killing Mr Dhaliwal".

The court was told the police case relied on the testimony of witnesses, "a lot" of whom lived within 100m of the house the accused killer was to be bailed to.

Police said the man could see many of the witnesses' homes from his bail address and there were "serious concerns" he would cause "friction in the neighbourhood" if he was released.

Authorities had been able to monitor the accused's telephone calls while he is was prison, which could not be controlled if he was on bail.

Police said given the seriousness of the allegations there was "huge motivation" for him to interfere with witnesses.

Ms Smith said her client was not aware of the full list of witnesses and she was still waiting on a full brief of the police case against him.

Mr Dhaliwal, 22, was found slumped over a concrete block at a construction site on Selwood Rd, Henderson at 3.11am on November 18.

A post-mortem examination showed he died of a blow to the head. It was his first shift as a guard.

The accused is awaiting trial on other charges, which police said highlighted an "escalation" of offending leading up to his arrest for Mr Dhaliwal's murder.

He had also denied the other allegations, including a road rage incident in which he was charged with assaulting a 57-year-old man by knocking out eight teeth and causing internal bleeding.

Police said that on the night Mr Dhaliwal was killed, the accused man allegedly breached bail conditions, including a curfew and drinking ban.

Ms Smith said the defendant's time in prison had "really turned his life around".

She said the accused was arrested and charged with Mr Dhaliwal's murder seven months after the death and "if [the defendant] were to flee the country, if he had a guilty mind, he would have by now".

Ms Tremewan said the result of the man's upcoming trials for unrelated charges might differ how the court would consider bail for him in the future.

The case was adjourned to September.