Former Auckland Grammar student charged with murder in US
A former Auckland Grammar student could face the death penalty after being charged with first-degree murder in the United States.
New Zealander Clinton Thinn, 29, is being held at George Bailey Detention Facility in San Diego, says the San Diego Sheriff’s Department website.
He is charged with attempted robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a loaded firearm and firstdegree murder.
His bail has been set at US$2 million ($2.74m).
The murder charge was laid after an incident at the maximum security facility housing nearly 1800 prisoners.
A friend said Thinn had been “picked on” because of his accent and had pledged allegiance to the Aryan Brotherhood — a white supremacist prison gang in the US.
If convicted, Thinn faces a minimum of 25 years in prison, or the death penalty.
The Aucklander was arrested in San Diego, California, last June after a man entered a Chula Vista bank brandishing a hammer and a flare gun. The man reportedly fired two shots with the flare gun and attempted to smash a bulletproof partition with the hammer. News reports at the time said no one was injured.
A friend of Thinn’s told the Herald they had met at Auckland’s Selwyn College, after Thinn left Auckland Grammar School. He considered himself a close friend and would try to make contact with Thinn to offer support.
The old schoolmate, who asked not to be named, said Thinn had gone through some personal issues over the years and had been failed by those around them. “He should have never left the country.”
Thinn’s mother had passed away a number of years ago and he had inherited a large amount of money, the friend said. He bought an innercity apartment, on Lorne St, and had a fish tank installed. He also owned a Mercedes at the time.
The two-bedroom apartment was featured in Herald Homes in June, 2011. In an interview, the then-accounting student said he wanted to make his home a unique and hip place to live.
“I decided to make some alterations and put a fish tank in the wall to make the apartment feel alive as opposed to a sterile hotel environment.
“When I am studying, I like to hear water in the background — it’s calming.”
Thinn, a lover of hip hop and rap, often posted videos of himself rapping to lyrics he had written under the rap artist names BigMac and Richochet Rocket.
Thinn’s old friend said he felt guilty about his mate’s current situation.
“These videos that he’s doing . . . he was led on by a lot of his friends . . . that he was a good rapper. When really, people were just leading him on — it was just funny for us to watch.”
The friend acknowledged Thinn could have had more support in America and did not need to rob a bank.
“He’s got money — he comes from a family of money.
“He wasn’t a proud friend to have around, but he was a dear friend.”
Another mate said he was “concerned” for the former Aucklander, who had moved to the US to further his rapping career.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said Thinn was receiving consular advice.