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A judge has praised the bravery and quick thinking of a 10-year-old boy who used his cellphone to video two gang members pointing a gun at his dad as they robbed him.
A 10-year-old boy’s brave and risky decision to film two Mongrel Mob members as they pointed a gun at his dad and robbed him led to the swift apprehension and conviction of both Mob members.
The boy and an older sibling were at home with their father in rural Hawke’s Bay on March 21, 2022 when a Toyota Rav4 arrived at the property carrying three masked men.
The men were Mongrel Mob members William Keefe-Puanaki, 23, and Tekster Rehu, 17, and a third man who has not been identified.
They had gone to the man’s property because Rehu had heard there was an indoor hydroponic cannabis operation there.
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When they arrived at the property in the afternoon, the man told them he used to grow hydroponic cannabis, but not any more.
Keefe-Puanaki and Rehu did not believe him. Keefe-Puanaki pulled out a sawn-off shotgun and pointed it at the man’s chest, face and head from about a metre away.
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Keefe-Puanaki and Rehu are both Mongrel Mob members. (File photo)
Keefe-Puanaki and Rehu made a brief and fruitless search of the property, then made the man pull out a few cannabis plants that were growing in his garden and put them in the boot of their car.
Before leaving, one of the gang members told the man not to call the police, or they’d come back and kill him. Then they drove away.
Unknown to the man, his son, 10, had recorded the registration of the car and had used his phone to take a number of photos and videos from inside the house while crouching underneath a window or behind curtains.
The man called police, and provided the registration and photos, and the car was stopped by police in Napier at 3pm that day. Police searched the pair’s houses where they found a .22 rifle, ammunition and cannabis.
NZ Police/Supplied
Rehu thought that man was growing hydroponic cannabis. He had once, but wasn’t any more. (File photo)
The sawn-off shotgun used in the incident was not recovered.
Keefe-Puanaki pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated robbery, possession of cannabis for supply and possession of ammunition. Rehu pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and possession of cannabis for supply.
The pair appeared in Napier District Court for sentencing before Judge Russell Collins on Friday.
Judge Collins expressed surprise at a cultural report on Rehu that stated he had become a patched Mongrel Mob member at the age of 15.
“Back in the day there was a substantial apprenticeship … You needed to be shaving for some years before you got a patch,” he said.
Rehu’s lawyer Roger Philip said it was reflective of the sort of environment in which Rehu was raised.
The judge also praised the 10-year-old boy for his bravery and presence of mind to record what was occurring.
“It was that presence of mind that led to the apprehension and convictions,” he said.
Collins sentenced Keefe-Puanaki to three years in prison. He adjourned Rehu’s sentencing to next month.
