Another Gang Related Shooting In Hawkes Bay

"lock your f***ing doors, get your kids, get everybody inside"

"A Hawkes Bay man told last night of his desperate bid to stop his best mate from getting involved in an armed confrontation that left a neighbour dead and the victim's 8-year-old son injured....

Late last night, armed police arrested Wilson Apatu, 39, whom they had been hunting since the killing about 2.30pm in the settlement of Waikoau, near Tutira on the Napier-to-Wairoa road...."

The dead man was later named as Layden Thomas Rameka, 32 from Waikoau. His young son Zepplen-Solly Rameka was shot in the arm and is said to be in a comfortable condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital.

"An anonymous resident told Radio New Zealand he had spoken to Apatu minutes before the shooting.

"He got called [expletive] and he went 'bro, I can't handle this', I went `what are you on about?'. So he hung up the phone. "So I rung the people (the victim's neighbours) and warned them, says 'lock your f***ing doors, get your kids, get everybody inside' and they thought I was joking, they didn't heed my warning."

The resident said he held the victim's hand as he died.

It was reported that Mr Rameka was a patched Mongrel Mob member who had recently moved back to the area."

Apatu "wanted to go out in a hail of bullets"

"Apatu fled the scene in his own vehicle before crashing it.

Waikoau Road farmer Rex Bullock was outside his home when the car crashed and had expected its occupant to be dead.

"He flipped the car over...and squashed the roof, almost to the top of the seat," he told Radio New Zealand.

"When I went out to see if there was a dead body in it or not he was climbing out the other side, standing up [with] a cut on the top of his head."

Apatu then allegedly held up a couple at gunpoint and stole their vehicle. The couple were unharmed.

A source told NZPA that Apatu had had his firearms license revoked and had told people he wanted to "go out in a hail of bullets".

Apatu was arrested about 11.30pm at a relative's house in Clive, 10km south of Napier, after the relative contacted police"

Gang violence out of control in New Zealand

Mr Rameka's death is thought to be the 49th violent death in New Zealand this year and the 8th murder this month. Gang related violence is not an 'isolated incident' in many locations in New Zealand. For more on Hawke's Bay's gang problems see:
'Horror as gang man attacked' July 09
'Two men found guilty of gang pad attack' July 09
'Two bashed in gang turf clash' June 09
'Mayors play down gang problem after brawls' Feb 09
'Gang violence out of control in New Zealand - Police say only luck preventing multiple homicides' June 08
'Prison brawl adds to gang tensions' June 08

For more on this story see NZ Herald reports here and here.

400 Hundred Burglaries In 8 Weeks In Hawkes Bay

There have been 400 hundred burglaries reported in an 8 week period in Hawkes Bay according to an article in hawkesbay.co.nz, many of them were from homes left insecure or unlocked.

Other towns have also experienced similar crime waves, such as the small town of Martinborough which suffered 45 burglaries over an 11 days and led to the setting up of a vigilante group to protect local residents. See more: Small town NZ life - a town under siege.

John Key burgled by 'P' addict
Property crime strikes at every level of society within New Zealand, much of it is related to drug abuse. John Key's Remuera home was burgled by in 2007 by a 'P' user with 140 prior convictions who was recently sentenced to 5 years prison on 27 charges. It came as no surprise to hear that the man was out on bail or under supervision at the time of the offences.

Crime and drugs in New Zealand
According to data published by Nationmaster NZ holds the dubious reputation for having the world's highest reported figures for victims of crimes against property, 14.8% of the total population have been victimised by property crime.

It also has the world's highest percentage of cannabis users and the third highest percentage of amphetamine users over the age of 15.

For today's posts see: latest posts

British Tourist in Napier Attack is Named

Source: Telegraph, UK
By Paul Chapman in Wellington

"A British tourist left fighting for his life in a New Zealand hospital after being assaulted so viciously that police say his attackers' boot marks were left imprinted on his head and face has been named.

Stuart Martin, a 31-year-old from Scotland, is in a coma in Hawke's Bay Hospital with a severe head injury.

His condition is described as critical.

Mr Martin, who has been living in Australia, had flown to the North Island seaside resort of Napier to attend the wedding on Saturday of a friend, Rory McBrearty.

He had been at a stag party when he became separated from the others, and police say he was set upon while walking past shops in the suburb of Taradale about 1am on Friday.

Mr McBrearty, also 31, has been keeping vigil at his comatose friend's hospital bedside.

He said: "I'm pretty upset about it all. It's overwhelming.

"I'm on the verge of a breakdown to tell the truth," he told Wellington's Dominion-Post newspaper.

He said that hospital staff were "not saying much about his condition, but it's pretty serious".

The two have been good friends for more than six years.

He described Mr Martin as "a small, friendly guy who makes friends with everyone".

A badly shaken Mr McBrearty told the newspaper that he and about 20 friends had spent much of Thursday being driven on a pub crawl.

"It was just your normal stag do. It was good. We finished up at a friend's place in Taradale."

No one in the stag party had noticed that Mr Martin was missing until they saw a police cordon around the scene while walking home through the suburb's town centre.

Detectives say they are "appalled" by the extent of his injuries.

They said a witness saw the victim being stomped on the face and head after he was knocked to the ground. The attack left him unconscious in the street.

Detective Sergeant Brian Schaab said: "The witness was unable to intervene but called police as the attack was in progress."

Three 17-year-old local youths have appeared in Napier District Court on Friday and were remanded in custody to reappear on March 4.

The three, named as Darrin Peter Wright, Hamish Glenn Bowman, and Joshua McConville, have all been charged with assault.

Police say further, possibly more serious, charges may follow"

British Tourist in Coma After Napier Attack

Source: NZ Herald
NZPA

"A British tourist is in a coma in Hawke's Bay Hospital after a vicious Napier attack left him with boot marks on his head and face.

The man, whose condition is described as critical, was set upon by three men as he walked past Taradale's main shopping area in Gloucester St just before 1am today.

He was knocked to the ground and stomped on with such ferocity there were boot imprints on his head and face.

The severity of the attack appalled police.

The man was taken to hospital after a passer-by alerted emergency services.

Police have arrested one man and were looking for another two.

The victim, who was visiting from the UK, had attended a stag party in Napier during the evening.

He had become separated from his friends before the assault said police, who were keen to speak to any witnesses."

The British citizen was later said to be 31 year old Scottish man Stuart Martin. According to Mail three local 17 year old youths were arrested and appeared in court today

Darrin Peter Wright, Hamish Glenn Bowman, and Joshua McConville, all from Taradale, appeared in the Napier District Court today charged with assault.

The 30-year-old English tourist, due to attend a friend's wedding tomorrow, was beaten as he walked past Taradale's main shopping area in Gloucester St just before 1am, Napier police said.

His attackers allegedly stomped on his head and face several times.

The man, who was living in Australia, was in a coma in critical condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital.

He would be named once police had contacted his family in Britain.

The three attackers were remanded in custody to reappear in the Napier District Court on March 4."

Shocked Taradale residents have left a number of messages on the paper's website :

"I always walk down this street at night, it is in a very nice are of napier, there are always young wannabe "gangsters" mooching around but I never take any notice. What a wake up call that no one is safe anymore."

"What is happening to our country? I dont even get on it that much anymore cause im scared im going to get jumped.The tourists are getting targeted hard aswel"

"All you can do is steal, rob, drink and smoke to fill in the time"

Source: Stuff.co.nz

"An organised brawl in Flaxmere was more about gang tensions than a rivalry between two high schools, says a 15-year-old witness who was hit by police pepper spray during the melee.

Flaxmere College pupil Rachel Walker said the fight, which attracted an estimated 200 young people, had been pre-arranged between pupils from her school and Hastings Boys High School at Flaxmere skate bowl on Tuesday.

Speaking at the the scene of the brawl yesterday, she was matter of fact about the reason for the confrontation. "It's basically girls, territory, colours and gangs."

Flaxmere College had the Bloods and Hastings Boys were Crips, she said.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule held a meeting with police and both school principals yesterday in the wake of the brawl, in which police officers were attacked. He said there were gang issues in Flaxmere but he had been assured the fight was nothing more than inter-school rivalry.

There was a heavy police presence near Flaxmere College as school ended yesterday, but no sign of trouble as groups of uniformed pupils stood around smoking and giving gangsta-style handshakes.

Rachel said she saw one youth during the fight "punch a police face and he got knocked down. It took six of them to put him down".

She was trying to pull a friend away as a police officer threatened to use pepper spray. "I got pepper-sprayed in the eye. I felt like a bad person. It's still sore.

She said that, though the fight was pre-arranged, there was no time to start it "properly" and most of the pupils had already abandoned it when police arrived. The brawlers then fled, leaving police to set about dispersing the crowd of cheering and jeering spectators.

Rachel said the trouble was that the district was too small. "All you can do is steal, rob, drink and smoke to fill in the time.

"Lots of teens go around causing trouble - robberies and bashing people. They just learn it from the community and they don't know when to stop. Even the little kids are picking it up from the teens."