Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

'Mistaken identity' claimed in attempted murder case

Rebecca Malcolm
Rotorua Daily Post·
18 Jun, 2014 06:02 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

Two of the men accused of attempted murder say they weren't there - while a third says he was there but was "in the background", had no idea guns were involved and didn't touch them.

Justice Graham Lang is expected to sum up the case against Derek Maynard Savage, 52, Deuce Derrick Junior Evo Rua Savage, 21, and Terere Kiwaho MacDonald, 29, in the High Court at Rotorua on Thursday before the jury considers its verdict.

They are each charged with two counts of attempted murder, or alternatively discharging a firearm with intent to causing grievous bodily harm.

They have all denied attempting to murder Jeremy Patrick August and Gavin Dean Pirini, who were shot at a River Rd property in Kawerau on September 13 last year.

In his closing arguments, MacDonald's lawyer, Bill Nabney, said his client didn't go to the house to try and kill them or cause them grevious bodily harm.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said that an hour earlier his client had been rendered unconscious after being hit with an iron bar by Mr August during an altercation at his house.

Witnesses said that hours after the attack MacDonald appeared concussed. A person suffering those affects wasn't the sort of person to be planning the attack, he said.

Mr Nabney said MacDonald didn't know there were guns being taken, and witnesses confirmed he was standing in the background behind the person or people who fired the shots.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Deuce Savage's lawyer, Harry Edward, said his client maintained he "wasn't there, wasn't involved" with the shooting incident.

Mr Edward said text messages from his phone to Mr August in the hours prior to the shooting weren't of a threatening nature. He said even if the jury believed Deuce Savage was there, there was no proof of intent and evidence around his role was contradictory and unreliable.

Tony Balme, the lawyer for Derek Savage, said it was a case of mistaken identity.

"He doesn't for one minute accept he was at [the address] at the time of the shooting."

Mr Balme said witnesses who claimed they had seen Derek Savage possibly confused him for a man of a similar description.

He said the identifications needed to be taken with "a lot of caution" as they were contradictory.

Crown prosecutor Greg Hollister-Jones said the attack came down to three crucial things - identity, participation and intent - all of which were proven.

"[It] was an intense period of extreme violence in which multiple shots were fired at the occupants of the house including the two that caused serious, life-threatening injuries ..."

He said they intended to go around there as retribution and "arrived together, burst into the house together" before firing multiple shots at close range.

"All participants were actively involved."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Deuce Savage and MacDonald are also charged with aggravated robbery a month prior to the shooting, while Deuce Savage also faces a charge of demanding $200 from a man with intent to steal it which they deny.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Man left with nerve damage after confronting woman for her 'dangerous' parking

21 Nov 10:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

When traffic stops: Finding calm in Rotorua’s unexpected slowdown

21 Nov 09:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

‘A huge honour’: Rotorua Dux award inspired by Māori trailblazer

21 Nov 05:00 PM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Man left with nerve damage after confronting woman for her 'dangerous' parking
Rotorua Daily Post

Man left with nerve damage after confronting woman for her 'dangerous' parking

Stevee Ormsby has been sentenced for the attack.

21 Nov 10:00 PM
Premium
Premium
When traffic stops: Finding calm in Rotorua’s unexpected slowdown
Opinion

When traffic stops: Finding calm in Rotorua’s unexpected slowdown

21 Nov 09:00 PM
‘A huge honour’: Rotorua Dux award inspired by Māori trailblazer
Rotorua Daily Post

‘A huge honour’: Rotorua Dux award inspired by Māori trailblazer

21 Nov 05:00 PM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP