Drug deal ends with man dying in street
A drug dealer was left dying in a suburban street after he got into a fight with a man who believed he was a police informant.
That man, Storm Te Huia, 47, plead guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to injure when he appeared in the High Court in Hamilton yesterday afternoon.
The story of Te Huia and Anthony ‘‘Skid’’ Hallmond, the man he beat up – and for a time was accused of murdering – was revealed in the Crown’s summary of facts presented to Justice Timothy Brewer.
It was about 6.45pm on Sunday, July 23 last year when Hallmond, 35, went to Te Huia’s home in North Street, Te Awamutu, to sell the older man half a gram of methamphetamine.
The pair went into the lounge where they began arguing.
According to a woman who overheard that altercation, Hallmond was saying ‘‘Give me my money’’. Te Huia was replying with words to the effect of ‘‘F **** off, you’re a nark. I spent five months in jail because you’re a nark’’.
Going to investigate, the woman found Te Huia and Hallmond throwing punches at each other. The scuffle continued throughout the house, out the front door, and onto the garden path outside the house.
Te Huia returned inside. Shortly after, the woman saw Hallmond lying unconscious in the gateway, with blood trickling down the side of his head.
Te Huia then dragged Hallmond to the grass verge of the footpath. Shortly after two people who knew Hallmond happened on the scene. An ambulance was called. CPR was given and Te Huia also tried to assist the injured man.
The ambulance arrived, but Te Huia subsequently died.
A scene examination found bloodstains on the garden path and footpath. Some of Hallmond’s teeth, dislodged during the course of the fight were found on the ground nearby.
A post-mortem examination found Hallmond had numerous cuts and abrasions to his head and limbs together with two ‘‘sharp force’’ injuries to the back of his head. He had a fractured rib and a broken and dislocated jaw.
The bad blood between Te Huia and Hallmond had it’s origins in an incident on June 22, 2016 when police officers went to a house in Leith St, Te Awamutu to carry out a bail check on one of the occupants.
Te Huia and Hallmond both happened to be at the house at that time.
While they were there, the police found Te Huia to be in possession of a stolen motorcycle, drugs and drug paraphernalia. He was arrested and later jailed.
For some reason Te Huia blamed Hallmond for his change in fortunes, and posted threatening messages on Hallmond’s Facebook page suggesting that his days were numbered and that ‘‘narks can eat shit’’.
On the day before the fateful drug deal, Te Huia told a woman at the house that he was going to ‘‘get a half’’ from Hallmond and then tell him to ‘‘f*** off’’.
And a few days after Hallmond’s death, Te Huia told an associate that he had ‘‘hit Skid half a dozen times before anyone in the house noticed what was happening’’ and he had knocked him to the ground and had kicked him in the ribs ‘‘while trying to kick him in the face’’.
Police initially charged Te Huia with murder following the 2017 incident, however this charge was formally withdrawn by the Crown in March.
As the summary of facts notes, expert analysis of Hallmond’s body ‘‘found nothing that would provide the foundation for an allegation that the injuries inflicted by the defendant were causative of the victim’s death’’.
Justice Brewer convicted Te Huia and remanded him in custody for sentencing on November 22.