By TONY WALL
The sound of men barking sent a chill through 16-year-old Wallace Whatuira and his four friends as they walked through Mongrel Mob turf in Palmerston North during the early hours of Waitangi Day.
The unarmed group of young Black Power prospects and older patched members were on their
way to an associate's house in Botanical Rd and had risked the dangerous route past the Mob's patch in Cowley Place.
They knew what the barking meant: the "mutts" (Mob) were coming. Stocky, heavily tattooed Hemi Davidson told his colleagues to "get going" and they quickened their pace down Farnham Ave.
But the barking grew louder and soon the group heard people running towards them.
Next morning, police found Wallace's body in the front yard of a property in nearby Coventry St.
He was crouching on one knee, his face buried in his arm as if crying in pain.
His abdomen was sprayed with shotgun pellets.
Six days later, another 16-year-old Black Power prospect told police what happened.
He described how Mongrel Mob member Leon Hakaraia, an "uncle" he had known all his life, had leaped in the air with a gun and fired a shot from chest height. How the group, including Wallace, had fled in terror.
The Weekend Herald has learned that after the shooting, the boy went to an aunt's place and later told her what had happened. She took him to the police.
The boy declined to go on the Witness Protection Programme, instead making security arrangements with his family.
Initially he stayed in Highbury, which was racked with gang tension after the shooting. But after a family meeting about two months ago, he was moved to another North Island town to stay with a cousin.
The boy's mother said the Mongrel Mob had not made any threats, "but he was worried about what they would do to him and me".
His move from Palmerston North was emotional.
"His little sister wanted him to stay ... but it was just for his safety, to be on the safe side."
On Monday, the boy started to give evidence through a video link, but shocked police when he refused to name Hakaraia as the shooter or place Mob members Andrew Popo and John Waara at the scene.
None of the other gang members there that night was prepared to help police, and the case collapsed.
The boy's mother believes he refused to testify against the men because he was frightened.
"I was scared for his life."
She said she encouraged her son to "be honest and tell the truth of what happened that night" and was proud that someone so young was standing up to the Mob.
She held nothing against him for not going through with it.
"He must have got scared ... I'm not angry, I'm just glad it's over. When I see him again I'll give him a big hug."
She said she hoped he would stay away from gangs. He left school two years ago and was on the unemployment benefit, but hoped to enrol in a training course.
The mother said she was reasonably happy with the way police handled her son.
"But they should have been there all the time to watch his back in case the Mob came around and did something to him."
Detective Inspector Doug Brew of Palmerston North said police handled the investigation professionally.
In his statement to police, the boy described how up to eight Mob members confronted him and his friends.
He said Popo, Waara and Hakaraia were the first to arrive.
"As the mutts were approaching us they were saying 'c'mon niggers' and barking."
The boy said he was frightened because the men had weapons, including baseball bats and knives.
He said Davidson told the rival gang members: "Put down your weapons - we'll fight, but no weapons."
The boy described how Hakaraia was standing behind Popo and Waara with a red scarf tied over his face.
"Leon ran up to John and Andrew and in between them. I did not see him carrying anything until he arrived at this point.
"As he did this, he jumped in the air and fired from chest height. As this happened his scarf fell down off his face.
"He fired one shot. I didn't recognise the firearm but saw the sparks as it was fired."
The witness said he did not know if the shot hit anyone. He and his friends, including Wallace, ran off towards Coventry St.
The boy and a gang associate ran up a long drive and hid in the back seat of a car, covering themselves with a blow-up toy castle.
"We were freaked out. I thought they might come after us, after me."
Questioned in court by Crown prosecutor Matthew Downs, the boy said he was unsure which mob members were there that night and who fired the gun.
Mr Downs: "Have you forgotten?"
Witness: "Yes, we were all drunk."
By TONY WALL
The sound of men barking sent a chill through 16-year-old Wallace Whatuira and his four friends as they walked through Mongrel Mob turf in Palmerston North during the early hours of Waitangi Day.
The unarmed group of young Black Power prospects and older patched members were on their
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.