Name suppression for murder accused
A man has appeared in court charged with the murders of two men at a Tauranga property on Tuesday evening.
The Auckland man was arrested by police on Friday in Christchurch. The arrest involved the special tactics Group, the Armed Offenders Squad, the Investigations Team and the Armed Response Team.
The heavily tattooed 25-year-old appeared in Christchurch District Court yesterday before Judge Tony Couch, facing two charges of murdering two men who were known to each other.
His lawyer, Moana Cole, sought an interim namesuppression order for the defendant, claiming it was a ‘‘high-profile case’’, and said there was a risk of retaliation. Judge Couch granted the interim suppression order.
Police also sought an interim order suppressing the names of both victims and the summary of facts, which was granted by Judge Couch.
The 25-year-old was remanded in custody to appear in Tauranga District Court on February 26.
Another man believed to be involved in the homicide investigation was shot dead by police on Thursday.
Officers returned fire from their moving car as the fleeing gunman, who ‘‘did not want to be caught’’, leaned out his window to shoot.
He had earlier used a semiautomatic weapon to spray police with fire during a chase in Tauranga.
The incident unfolded after police spotted a vehicle wanted in relation to the homicide at 7.46pm on Thursday, Bay of Plenty district commander Superintendent Andy McGregor said on Friday morning.
McGregor said the driver fired about 15-20 shots.
Police believed it was a semiautomatic weapon because of the number of shots fired in quick succession.
Detective Inspector Mark Loper said they were still working to understand the circumstances of the deaths and the involvement of any other parties. ‘‘While police have spoken to a number of people in relation to the incident, we believe there may be others who are yet to talk to us.’’