Custody remand after alleged nightclub bashing
A 25-year-old man has been remanded in custody after an alleged bashing at the Calendar Girls nightclub in Christchurch early on Sunday. Apirana Ropata Ngata, a shearer from Phillipstown, faces a...
View ArticleYouth admits possession of mosque shooting video
Police have dropped their allegation that a 16-year-old youth distributed the mosque shooting video, and the teen has admitted possession of the video of the March 15 killings at Christchurch’s Al Noor...
View ArticleJailing special needs offenders ‘against the law’, says judge
A Christchurch judge has delivered a stinging rebuke to “the system” for way it holds offenders with special needs in prison. As she delayed a sentencing, Judge Jane Farish said: “He’s in the ‘too hard...
View ArticleConvicted sex offender fights to keep suppression
A 61-year-old from a small community is fighting to keep his name secret after a jury convicted him of repeated sexual offending on a nine-year-old girl. He has begun his four-year jail term today – a...
View Article‘Cowardly’ attack on prison officer
A judge has called a prisoner serving life for murder a coward for his surprise bashing of a Corrections officer in Otago prison. Judge Stephen O’Driscoll could not add any jail time to the life term...
View Article$800 fine for breaching dolphin set net ban
A Phillipstown man with a “passion” for sea fishing has been fined $800 after admitting he got the rules wrong for the South Island set net ban. Much of the island’s east coast is covered by the ban,...
View ArticleDirector admits wine frauds
A North Canterbury winery director has admitted frauds involving labelling and certification for hundreds of thousands of litres of wine – much of it heading for export markets. Scott Charles Berry,...
View ArticleUnlicensed building work offences admitted
A Mosgiel man admitted doing unlicensed building and inspection work, and using forged and false documents in Christchurch from 2012 to 2016. Rodney James Day, 55, pleaded guilty to 15 charges in the...
View ArticleMan supplied guns after drugs stand-over
A man has admitted supplying shotguns to a couple who had earlier been threatened in a drug stand-over incident, and he has been fined $1100 at the Christchurch District Court. The shotguns were found...
View ArticleChase driver jumped from moving car
During a police pursuit through Christchurch, 46-year-old Teaahu Reti crashed through two fences and then jumped from the moving car and ran off while the car went on to crash into a third fence. The...
View ArticleYouth on mosque video charge back in custody
A 16-year-old who spent months in custody charged with possession of the mosque shooting video, has ended up back in the Youth Justice facility at Rolleston because of a bail breach. The youth was...
View ArticleSecond winery director admits charges
A second director of Southern Boundary Wines at Waipara has admitted fraud charges relating to tens of thousands of litres of the wine it sold and exported. Andrew Ronald Moore, 45, pleaded guilty to...
View ArticleFire hero jailed for child sex offending
The bulldozer-driving hero of the Port Hills fires has been jailed for 12 years for child sex offending including rape. Nikora Martin, 37, continues to deny any offending as he begins the sentence...
View ArticleMurder charge over Hokitika baby’s death
A 30-year-old man has been charged with murder after the death of a 10-month-old baby boy allegedly injured in Hokitika on Tuesday. The baby was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital in a critical...
View ArticleTerror video teen released again
A 16-year-old awaiting sentencing for possession of the objectionable mosque terror attack video has been released on bail again after admitting possession of cannabis. The youth, who cannot be named...
View ArticleSupervision for role in fatal drugs shake-down
A 31-year-old whose manslaughter conviction for the death of Ashburton man Arran Gairns was overturned on appeal has now been released on supervision. Kooly Mangaki Te Tomo was found guilty of...
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14-year-old charged with Riccarton arson
A boy aged 14 has been charged with the arson of the derelict historic building Antonio Hall in Riccarton Road. The youth entered no plea when he appeared before Judge Noel Walsh in the Christchurch...
View ArticleCrown alleges 13 years of abuse, violence
The Crown is alleging 13 years of violence and sexual abuse by a man who has gone on trial, but the jury was told the victims did not complain during regular contacts with the authorities. The jury in...
View Article‘Cultural mistake’ led to touching of boy
A 79-year-old Chinese man who tweaked the penis of a toddler in the changing rooms at Pioneer Recreation Centre has avoided conviction because the practice is seen as acceptable sign of affection in...
View ArticlePolice allege dog stabbed to death
A Spreydon man charged with stabbing a dog to death has been refused bail in a hearing at the Christchurch District Court. Neil Harrison, a 54-year-old pipe fitter, entered no pleas to six charges...
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