Trio plead as alleged Hamilton 'kidnapping' re-trial gets set to kick off

The trio pleaded guilty to lesser charges of robbery and assault with a weapon. Image / Google maps

Three people accused of robbing, threatening, assaulting and unlawfully detaining a group of friends have avoided a re-trial after a last-minute plea change.

Troy Mudford, 21, of Hamilton, Shannon Jenifer Avery, 39, of Brightwater in Nelson, and Maxine Danielle McWaters, 30, of Matamata, were on trial in the High Court at Hamilton in April defending four charges of aggravated robbery relating to the alleged theft of wallets, cellphones and clothing.

They also each faced four charges of kidnapping, while Avery faced an additional charge of assault using a knife as a weapon.

Mudford faces two additional charges of assault using a hammer as a weapon, threatening to kill, injuring with intent to injure, and demands with menaces property belonging to another victim with intent to steal it.

All of the charges related to an incident in Hamilton which stretched from Friday between January 16 through to the early hours of Saturday 17, 2021.

The trial had to be aborted just over halfway through and a new trial was set to begin in Hamilton today after the jury was sworn in yesterday.

However, the trio pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were remanded in custody for sentencing in September.

All three admitted a charge of robbery, while Mudford and Avery pleaded guilty to charges of assault with a weapon.