High Court judge labels killing of Tauranga man by mobsters ‘so concerning, so outrageous’

A judge has described the fatal attack by a group of Mongrel Mob gang members on the law-abiding residents of a suburban Tauranga property as "gratuitous, wanton violence that at its worst was frankly evil".

Mitchell Te Kani was struck on the head with a crowbar, fell backwards on to the concrete of his parents' Maungatapu Road driveway and died on the night of 14 May, 2022.

Ten Mongrel Mob members were eventually arrested, one was cleared, and nine went through an eight-week trial in the High Court at Hamilton late last year.

They were Kevin Allan Bailey and Shem Williams, both from Gate Pā; Mihaka Ratahi, of Pāpāmoa; Kiri Mereina Pini and Bodine Umuroa, from Parkvale; Hamiora Bennett from Brookfield; Huntly man Jahvaun Te Ari Layne; and Witaiawa Robinson and Samuel Mark Milosi of Tauranga.

The group all successfully defended murder charges but five were found guilty of Te Kani's manslaughter and the rest were convicted of serious assault charges relating to the victim's whānau, including his brother, Thomas Te Kani.

On day two of sentencing in the High Court at Hamilton today, Justice Andrew Becroft told the group their actions had "rocked an innocent and law-abiding family to its core".

"In one sense, they will never recover ... you have left an immeasurable void."

The circumstances of the attack were complex.

Pini had been in a long-term, volatile "and at times violent" relationship with Mitchell Te Kani's brother, Thomas, and they had three children together.

By 2022, she was seeing Umuroa.

When Pini went to the Te Kani property in early May, she and Thomas had an argument that resulted in him smashing some windows of her car.

The next time she returned, the night of the attack, she took Umuroa, who was wearing his patch, with her to act as the "muscle".

A scuffle ensued and the pair initially refused to leave the property. When they eventually did, Thomas Te Kani had returned home and fought with Umuroa, getting the better of him.

Umuroa and Pini left, with Umuroa stating he would be back with "the Rogues".

And he was.

'Chanting and barking'

Justice Becroft found about 20 gang members, including Pini, returned to the property, chanting and barking as they advanced up the driveway.

A fight ensued, which resulted in Mitchell's death, and four others, including his 71-year-old father, Korau Te Kani, being injured.

"The family couldn't understand why this happened.

"Why Ms Pini, who had once been part of this family, and Mr Umuroa, who enlisted the help of the Mongrel Mob, why at no stage they didn't stop it?"

He said Korau Te Kani was a "deeply impressive man"; he joined the skirmish line to help protect his family.

"You need to be held accountable for this chilling offending," the judge told the group.

"It was mob violence. Metaphorically and literally.

"It was a descent into the law of the jungle.

"New Zealanders would be horrified and stopped in their tracks to think this could happen in our community."

The need for deterrence was paramount, he said.

"There's absolutely no justification for your behaviour, and I need to speak to you blokes directly," the judge said, criticising them for thinking they could walk on to private property and unleash "vengeful violence".

"This was gratuitous, wanton violence that at its worst was frankly evil.

"This case is an abject lesson as to why the community is concerned about gang behaviour.

"The patch that most of you wore that night is now one of violence, shame and dishonour and represents the blackest of black marks in your lives."

Justice Becroft told them when they are finally released from jail they would have a chance to "demonstrate that there's a better way".

"I genuinely hope you can."

'Almost a slam-dunk in terms of seriousness'

Bennett's counsel Marie Taylor-Cyphers urged Justice Becroft not to use inferences when it came to assessing the evidence and instead sentence each defendant based on what was found at the scene, including DNA, blood, or fingerprints.

But the judge dismissed that, describing it as akin to "something of a lottery as to where the DNA evidence was and was not found".

She pushed for sentences "significantly lower" than the Crown, near half or less.

But Justice Becroft disagreed and said they were all charged jointly and the jury found them guilty on that basis.

"In my view, beyond a shadow of a doubt, you willingly enlisted in the common unlawful purpose with eyes wide open."

He identified at least seven aggravated features that increased the seriousness of each charge.

"Your offending is almost a slam-dunk in terms of seriousness," he told them.

'You pushed the start button'

A rather dishevelled, skinny, and glum-looking Umuroa was in the dock today.

Umuroa was found guilty of six charges, including manslaughter, as was Pini.

Justice Becroft said the 41-year-old should face the highest jail term as the tragic events of that night would never have happened if it weren't for him.

"You very deliberately pushed the start button.

"None of your associates would be here today were it not for you, and I'm glad to see you nodding your head in agreement," the judge told him.

Justice Becroft noted Umuroa's "tumultuous childhood" but also how unusual it was that he joined the gang relatively late in life, aged in his 30s.

He joined the gang "seeking solace from family disadvantage".

Defence counsel Tony Rickard-Simms described how before this attack, his client only had several minor convictions, including three drink-driving convictions prior to 2015.

The judge said that out of all the offenders, Umuroa was the one who appeared to acknowledge his wrongdoing.

"He's someone who understands what has happened, albeit belatedly, and is pretty affected by it."

Rickard-Simms said his client didn't mean for anyone to get hurt and he was genuinely remorseful.

He'd also suffered the loss of his teenage daughter at the start of the trial.

But Justice Becroft said turning up with other gang members at a residential property was a "recipe for disaster".

"It's so serious, so concerning, and so outrageous."

Umuroa was jailed for 13 years and three months and ordered to serve a minimum non-parole period of 50 percent.

'Strong, influential, manipulative'

Assessing Pini's culpability was more complex.

Her counsel Scott Mills produced a psychologist's report that confirmed she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from her tumultuous relationship with Thomas Te Kani.

Te Kani had five convictions for breaching a protection order and four for "quite serious inter-partner violence".

Essentially, Mills said, his client was a "battered woman".

But the judge noted there was no defence proffered about that at trial.

"Certainly you have been subject to violence from Thomas Te Kani in the past ... and within two weeks of this it's likely you experienced some violence then," the judge said.

Mills, who sought up to 50 percent in discounts for Pini, said the greatest consequence as a result of that night was the loss of her relationship with her children.

"And that is a keenly felt loss.

"That relationship was always something that was very important to her."

She had also completed several courses while on remand.

Mills pushed for a six to six-and-a-half years start point, and while the judge said he had "thought about this at some length, I reach a different conclusion".

Justice Becroft said she willingly invited Umuroa, whom she knew was wearing his patch.

"The inevitable inference is that Mr Umuroa was there as a supporter and muscle, and that may be understandable given Thomas Te Kani's earlier violence against you."

There was also nothing "polite" about her actions that night.

"You tried to ragdoll your own daughter down the steps ... and involve yourself in the fracas down the driveway."

Despite eventually leaving, she returned with Umuroa and his gang associates knowing that her three children were there and her granddaughter.

She then egged the group on to attack Thomas by saying, "it's him, it's him, with the shirt on".

"I regard you as being a woman of strong character ... you willingly involved yourself in the incident and it was no powerless, bystander role."

He said the 43-year-old summed up her culpability succinctly herself when sitting in a jail cell after the attack, when she said, "I belong here".

Justice Becroft said she and Umuroa "must both have been close to have been convicted of murder".

"It might have been one issue that the jury struggled with."

He understood why the whānau didn't want to meet Pini at restorative justice as she was likely the last person they'd want to see.

What struck him was that Mitchell was someone she was also fond of; he had stepped in to help her in the past.

After taking a sentence starting point of 14 years and nine months', Judge Becroft came to an end term of nine and a half years, along with a 50 percent minimum non-parole period.

*This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.