Black Power accused named in murder case

WHANGANUI: The names of six men accused of murdering Kevin ‘‘Kastro’’ Ratana can now be revealed.

They are Black Power gang members Damien FanthamBaker, Damien Kuru, Anthony Kuru, Sheldon Rogerson, Gordon Runga and Anthony Newton.

Anthony Kuru, Rogerson and a seventh man, who still has name suppression, pleaded not guilty to murdering Ratana when they appeared in the Whanganui District Court yesterday.

Name suppression lapsed for six of the seven men alleged to have mur dered Ratana in a shooting outside his Puriri St home in Whanganui on August 21, 2018.

Four police officers, four prison officers and two court security officers were stationed around a public gallery that was notably emptier yesterday than at an earlier appearance in November when tensions boiled over in the courtroom.

During that appearance, Mongrel Mob members began barking like dogs and yelling ‘‘sieg heil’’ following not guilty pleas entered by Damien Kuru and Damien FanthamBaker, forcing an increased security presence to remove all gang mem bers from the courtroom.

A brawl erupted outside, resulting in the arrest of two men.

A trial date icannot yet be set for the six men alleged to have murdered Ratana and they will next appear in the court on September 2.

Ratana, known as ‘‘Kastro’’, was a patched member of the Mongrel Mob and was an aspiring rapper.

His tangi was held on the River Rd in Parikino in August last year and attracted an increased police presence that included an eyeinthesky Eagle helicopter.

Ratana had two sons and a partner.