Three men are set to stand trial after two Rotorua people were kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint of $10,000.
Vaiola Ioane Mulitalo, 20, of Manurewa, Thomas Phillip Hutchinson, 33, of Otara and Michael Griffin, 26, of Lower Hutt, appeared in the Rotorua District Court yesterday.
Mulitalo and Hutchinson pleaded not guilty to taking away two people "with their consent obtained by duress", robbing them of $10,000 while armed with a loaded pistol, being in possession of a loaded revolver and being in an enclosed yard on Jervis St without reasonable excuse.
Griffin, who was not charged with kidnapping, pleaded not guilty to the other three charges. The offences are said to have happened in Rotorua on October 30. All three elected a trial by jury.
Mulitalo and Hutchinson were remanded in custody while Griffin was remanded on bail. They will reappear in Rotorua District Court for a case review hearing on January 29.