A man is run over by a car outside a gig in Palmerston North and the incident is thought to be part of events leading up to the fatal shooting of Hori Gage later in the weekend. Video / Supplied
Hori Gage was waiting for his mum to come and jump-start his car when he was gunned down in front of his partner and children who were also in the vehicle.
The Mongrel Mob member died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds in what the Crown has describedas “an execution” after an earlier attack on a rival gang.
Now, Black Power members Robert Richards and Royden Haenga are on trial in the High Court at Palmerston North accused of Gage’s murder.
During that assault several days earlier, the local president received multiple stab wounds, a partially severed finger and had his gang patch taken from him by several Mongrel Mob members in what’s known as a “depatching”.
The Crown says Richards and Haenga responded to a “call to arms” to Black Power chapters around the country to retaliate against the assault.
Hori Gage, 27, was fatally shot in front of his family in Palmerston North on August 6. Photo / NZ Police
The Crown say the two men, and another gang member Neihana Cunningham, drove around looking for Mongrel Mob associates and found Gage sitting in his car with his family on Sunday, August 6, 2023.
It’s the Crown’s case that Richards and Haenga got out of their own car, armed with .22 calibre firearms.
It’s alleged that Haenga stood beside his passenger door and fired multiple shots at Gage, while Richards advanced and fired five shots into Gage’s body.
Gage died at the scene. His partner was sitting in the passenger seat next to him while his children were in the backseat.
Cunningham has since pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
‘Greatest insult a gang member can suffer’
Crown prosecutor Guy Carter opened what is expected to be a four-week-long trial this afternoon with a claim that Richards and Haenga were out looking for revenge.
Carter said it didn’t matter that Gage belonged to a different chapter of the Mongrel Mob to the gang members who had assaulted the Black Power president.
“The Crown says that the murder of Hori Gage was a direct response by Black Power to the depatching of one of their presidents.
“This was a humiliation for Black Power, and a significant response was required.”
Robert Richards. Photo / Jeremy Wilkinson
Carter said a gang member having their patch taken was one of the biggest insults they could suffer. A “call to arms” went out after the incident, where Black Power associates travelled from other towns to Palmerston North to help exact that revenge.
It is the Crown’s case that Richards and Haenga drove around Palmerston North, looking for any Mongrel Mob member to kill as a retribution.
“It might be described as an execution,” Carter said.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty today. Haenga admits to being in the car but Richards denies being there at all.
Their lawyers kept their opening submissions short, both urging the jury to keep an open mind over the next few weeks and to not judge the pair simply for being gang members.
Haenga’s lawyer, Scott Jefferson, said his client never intended to kill Gage.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū, covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
