Gang man dragged from dock
The Mongrel Mob member at the centre of an armed standoff prompted by his drug-induced paranoia had to be dragged from the dock after being sentenced to two years and five months’ jail.
Hemi Taylor, 26, appeared in Napier District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to charges of unlawfully possessing a firearm and discharging a firearm.
Taylor emerged from an Alexander Ave house carrying a baby at 1.30am on June 25, after a 12-hour standoff that saw several blocks of Napier cordoned off. The standoff ended without injury.
Taylor’s lawyer, Eric Forster, said his client had mental health issues and had not been taking his medication. He had been using methamphetamine instead.
He may have been delusional and paranoid at the time of the offending, Forster said.
Judge Tony Adeane said the underlying gang and criminal activity was an aggravating feature. People who brought infants and firearms together should expect stern penalties.
He sentenced him to two years and five months in prison.
After receiving the sentence, Taylor refused to move, and had to be restrained by police and court staff, who pulled him to the ground and took him to the cells.
In the days leading up to the stand-off, Taylor had been using a large amount of methamphetamine. He had been entrusted by other gang members to deliver methamphetamine from Napier to Gisborne.
Taylor was in a de facto relationship with his partner of seven years. They had a four-month-old daughter and were expecting another child.
On June 23, after failing to make a drug delivery, he became paranoid, believing the gang was looking for him and wanted to kill him. So he armed himself with a shotgun cut down to pistol length.
On the afternoon of June 24, Taylor and his partner visited her mother when he took the firearm out and paraded it around the house. After arguing with his partner, he grabbed the baby and the firearm and drove away. He returned a short time later to collect his partner, then drove to their home on Alexander Ave.
By that time, police had been alerted and found his car in the driveway. Cordons were put around several blocks and local schools were put in lockdown.
The armed offenders squad was joined by the strategic tactics group, which was flown by helicopter from Wellington. At 1.30am on June 25, Taylor agreed to surrender and walked from the house.