A Bay of Plenty Mongrel Mob member tied up with the gang violence that led to the death of Murupara teen Jordan Herewini has been jailed for two years.
Tosh Marley Te Tomo, 17, was sentenced in the High Court at Rotorua today on a charge of participating in organised crime, with Justice Edwin Wylie saying gang behaviour had to be denounced in the strongest of terms.
He also imposed a six months jail term for unlawfully possessing a firearm and four months for unlawfully possessing explosives (ammunition). The term will be served concurrently.
The offending had been clearly premeditated and occurred during the lead-up to the death of 16-year-old Jordan on January 27, Justice Wylie said.
Jordan was killed when he was run over by Mongrel Mob members, mistaking him for a Tribesmen gang member. He was not a member of any gang.
Although Te Tomo had not been present when Jordan was run over, he had been when retaliation was previously planned against the Tribesmen gang.
Outlining the confrontation, Justice Wylie said Tribesmen members had assaulted Mongrel Mob members and stolen their vehicle.
The Mongrel Mob members had armed themselves with various weapons before driving in convoy to a Murupara home where they broke windows, forced entry and smashed up the property.
A vehicle in the driveway was also attacked.
It was while the gang was there that Jordan was run over and subsequently died.
On February 17 police found a 12 gauge double-barrelled shotgun in Te Tomo's wardrobe and nine cartridges secreted inside a beanie in a drawer.
Te Tomo had said they were necessary for his own protection.
"You deliberately participated in a group to exact retribution – a violent confrontation was the result.
"The community is rightly affronted by gangs that take the law into their own hands and should not have to put up with it, they expect it to be denounced in the strongest possible terms," Justice Wylie said.
NZPA