Tauranga District Court: Five men appear on rioting and assault-related charges after ‘gang-related’ brawl

High police presence at the Tauranga courthouse today as five gang members appear in the Tauranga District Courrt. Photo / Sandra Conchie

Five men today appeared in court on rioting and assault-related charges after a “gang-related” brawl in Mount Maunganui.

Two are also accused of robbing a man of his vehicle.

A total of eight people were arrested after what police described as a “gang-related incident” involving two gangs on Maunganui Rd on Wednesday morning.

On Thursday, at least 20 police staff surrounded the Tauranga courthouse complex with more officers inside the building, including in courtroom one, where five of those arrested appeared before Judge Christina Cook.

Judge Cook closed the courtroom to the public for the appearances.

Jesse Wiheti Fisher, 38, from Matapihi; Lake Kaimoana, 24, of Tauranga; Paul Frederick Carmichael, 44, of Brookfield; Te Koikoi Brown, 25, of Bethlehem and 35-year-old Mount Maunganui man Teina Eremiha Matiaha faced joint charges of rioting and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Brown and Kaimoana are also jointly charged with aggravated robbery.

Charging documents revealed the aggravated robbery charges related to an allegation the pair robbed another man of his Nissan Navara at Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.

Brown was also charged with unlawful possession of an offensive weapon, namely knuckle dusters, in Maunganui Rd during the incident.

The maximum penalty for the wounding and robbery charges is 14 years’ imprisonment and two years in prison for the rioting charge.

Police did not oppose bail for the five defendants but successfully sought a number of bail conditions.

Duty lawyer Peter Attwood sought a remand period of three weeks to enable the defendants to seek further legal advice before they entered pleas to their charges.

Judge Cook consented to that and bailed the five men to next appear in Tauranga District Court on July 13.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.