Gangsters jailed over shootings
Two Taranaki gangsters have been jailed following a number of shootings, including one where the victim may lose an arm.
Last week, Anthony Joel Heke, 22, a member of the gang Uru Taha, or West Side, was sentenced to four years and two months in jail.
Alongside Heke in the New Plymouth District Court dock was his co-offender and fellow gang member, Tyson Hutchinson, 19, who was also there for sentencing.
He was jailed for five years and four months.
A Crown summary of facts said that on March 29, 2019, Heke and Hutchinson were ordered by the now deceased gang member Thomas Holland to shoot at a house in New Plymouth’s Omata Rd.
The pair drove past about 10pm and Heke fired off a shotgun at the house and a car.
The following day, Heke and Hutchinson were at a Plympton St, New Plymouth, address when a fellow gang member arrived with a man looking to buy methamphetamine.
There, a confrontation later ensued between the man and the gang members.
Heke grew agitated and violently attacked the man before shooting him in the arm.
Hutchinson then disposed of the gun which has not been located, the summary stated.
Heke dropped the man, who was bleeding heavily, at the front of Taranaki Base Hospital.
The next day, Heke and Hutchinson went to an Inglewood address to confront a man they believed had told police about the Plympton St shooting.
Heke put a gun to the man’s head while Hutchinson punched the man.
Hutchinson was later linked to a shooting at a Mongrel Mob pad in Lawry St, New Plymouth.
In court, Judge Tony Greig said the man shot by Heke was still at risk of losing his arm.
Extensive medical work was required to save the limb but he could still barely use it, Judge Greig said.
‘‘He can’t even pick up a pen. He says it is like a claw.
‘‘He may still have to have his arm removed altogether.’’
Heke was remorseful for his actions and had a desire to change his ways for the sake of his child, it was detailed in a cultural report provided to the court.
But that drew doubts from Judge Greig, who noted in a pre-sentence report that Heke had promised to ‘‘be as difficult as possible for the prison staff’’ and continue to ‘‘play up’’.
‘‘I don’t know whether the pre-sentence report is the real Mr Heke or just the old Mr Heke.
‘‘And the cultural report is the new Mr Heke and the one you are trying to be but change does not happen overnight,’’ the judge said.
The truth would reveal itself when Heke faced the Parole Board in years to come and his behaviour while in jail would come under the spotlight, Judge Greig said.
Both men received 40 per cent discounts from the starting point of their sentences for factors including their guilty pleas, youth and cultural report findings.
Judge Greig wished the men well in their sentences, with additional encouragement to Heke.
‘‘I hope it goes well, and that you are reunited with your child and become the father and man you want to be as soon as possible. Kia kaha,’’ he told Heke.