Taranaki Daily News

Review after courtroom assault

- Tara Shaskey

A courtroom attack involving a patched gang member and his codefendan­t might have been avoided had security been better prepared, the victim’s lawyer has said.

The Ministry of Justice is to review the assault on Patrick Mooney’s client, Paremaina Wiperi, which took place in the New Plymouth District Court on Friday.

Nelson Mongrel Mob member Rambo Barton punched Wiperi in the left eye at the close of the hearing.

The pair were sitting next to one another in the dock while one police officer stood at the side of Wiperi.

Moments after the judge stood the defendants down Barton delivered the thundering punch to an unsuspecti­ng Wiperi.

This was followed by a chorus of gang chants from members of the public gallery.

Co-offenders, Ryan Rito Heremaia and Michael Lindsay Wahanui, were also present at the hearing via audio visual link.

This week, Mooney said there had been disruption­s at earlier hearings involving Heremaia, Wahanui and Barton and so security should have anticipate­d further issues.

‘‘There is always more that can be done … the question is whether disruption, of any kind, should have been anticipate­d,’’ he said. ‘‘I believe it should have.’’

While courtroom security was generally good, he said the need to be aware of tensions in gang situations should be at the forefront. Typically a defendant brought into the courtroom from the holding cells is seen flanked by two officers in the dock.

In this instance, Wiperi came from the public gallery while Barton was brought up from the cells. Mooney was unsure of the specifics of security rules but expected that with multi-accused cases there would be more than one officer in the dock. Police prosecutor sergeant Lewis Sutton, who was present in court, would not comment on whether he believed security procedures were followed or enough was done to avoid the assault.

‘‘There were court police escorts, there were court prison escorts, it was under control. Unfortunat­ely you can’t control people’s behaviour,’’ he said. ‘‘You can’t win them all.’’ Ministry of Justice GM Health Safety and Security Melissa Gill said for security reasons courtroom security arrangemen­ts could not be publicly disclosed.

However, she said the Ministry was aware of the courtroom attack and would be reviewing it.

The four defendants earlier pleaded guilty to a variety of charges in relation to a violent dinnertime attack outside The Mayfair restaurant on Devon St West, New Plymouth, on June 28.

They will return to court on December 14 for sentencing. Wiperi will appear in the dock on his own as per his lawyer’s request.

Barton will face a charge of common assault for attacking Wiperi.

The fracas was not the first to be seen between co-offenders in the New Plymouth courtroom.

In 2012, mayhem erupted when Michael Hutchinson, just sentenced to nine years’ jail, launched a furious assault on his co-defendant.

The two appeared beside one another in the dock.

Ten police officers, security staff and prison warders piled in to the fight to separate the brawling prisoners, one of whom is believed to have lost his earlobe as an officer applied a restrainin­g technique.

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Rambo Barton

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