Kristafa Hirawani appears in the Rotorua District Court. Photo / Kelly Makiha
Kristafa Hirawani appears in the Rotorua District Court. Photo / Kelly Makiha
Kristafa Hirawani and his Black Power gang mates videoed themselves doing hands-free wheelstands on trail bikes while weaving through traffic and “creating chaos” around Rotorua.
But the footage being posted to Facebook proved the 20-year-old’s undoing, with police spotting it and tracking him down.
Now Hirawani has been jailed for15 months, not just for his trail bike antics, but also for offences relating to a gang stoush in Rotorua’s Fordlands and being in a stolen car.
Hirawani appeared in the Rotorua District Court yesterday for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to charges of participating in an organised criminal group, reckless driving and unlawfully being in a motor vehicle.
Judge Glen Marshall said the gang standoff in Fordlands was the most serious offending and the organised criminal group charge carried a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The groups fled the scene but Hirawani returned 20 minutes later, this time leading 20 men.
Hirawani was at the front of the group when they stormed through the gates of a Wrigley Rd property and damaged the house.
Black Power chapters fought on Wrigley Rd.
Judge Marshall said Hirawani, armed with a curtain rail, damaged a CCTV camera at the property.
“Later, the house was the subject of an arson and it was extensively damaged, although it’s not suggested that you were part of that,” he told the defendant.
Judge Marshall said the reckless driving charge stemmed from an April incident when Hirawani and his associates were driving around Rotorua on motorcycles.
“They were weaving in and out of traffic, doing wheelstands and creating chaos as far traffic was concerned.”
The police summary of facts said Hirawani was riding in the Fordlands and Sunset Rd areas.
He was not wearing a helmet and drove on the wrong side of the road, on footpaths and towards oncoming vehicles.
The wheelstands were done while not holding the handlebars and while weaving in and out of traffic, the summary said.
The charge of unlawfully being in a motor vehicle stemmed from Hirawani’s fingerprint being found on the ignition barrel of a car stolen in Putaruru in July last year.
Hirawani’s lawyer, Terere Aoake, had asked Judge Marshall to adjourn sentencing as they had found an address where Hirawani could potentially serve a home detention sentence.
However, Judge Marshall agreed with Crown prosecutor Kris Bucher that sentencing should go ahead.
He gave a starting point of two years and two months’ jail, but reduced it by 11 months to take into account Hirawani’s guilty plea and factors in his background.
Judge Marshall sentenced him to 15 months’ jail but granted him leave to apply for home detention from prison if the proposed address was found to be suitable.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
