Accused sheep killers not to enter Eketahuna

Two men jointly charged with sheep killing have been banned from Eketahuna township.

Jordon Hanson, 17, and Hamish Van Der Wiel, 24, from Pahiatua, appeared again in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday in relation to the theft and killing of 16 sheep on two Eketahuna properties.

The pair have been remanded on bail to reappear in August.

Hanson failed to attend court on Tuesday and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He is charged with killing three sheep from a farm on Newman Road and another 13 "in-lamb ewes" from a farm on High Street.

Bail conditions include a curfew between 7pm-7am, a non-association order with three of his alleged co-accused as well as not to consume drugs or enter the township of Eketahuna.

Van Der Wiel is also charged with breaches of two existing bail conditions, namely not residing at the residential address he had provided and disregarding a non-association order with Mr Hanson.

When asked by the court why he failed to change his address, Van Der Wiel claimed to have been at the "week-long" tangi of his cousin, Cheyanne Ihaka.

Ihaka, 16, was killed in a head-on car smash near Pahiatua last week.

Van Der Wiel has had his legal aid application stopped, he told the court.

"I was going to apply but I had to provide evidence of my part time incomebut the press has printed my name and I haven't received any work since."

Van Der Wiel was also bailed with a night time curfew and a condition to not take any solvents or non-prescribed drugs.

Both were given warnings and reminded future chances of bail "decreased" when a defendant failed to comply with the conditions.