Man dies after fight in township
Calls of ‘‘Get out of here man’’ and ‘‘they’re going to kill us’’ were heard before a man was found dead in Pukemiro.
Police have launched a homicide investigation after the man died near Huntly on Friday night following an apparent fight.
Waikato Detective Sergeant Kelvin Leonard said police received a report that someone had been injured at a property at Pukemiro at 11.12pm.
Emergency services attended, but the man died at the scene.
On Saturday morning Joseph St remained cordoned off as police examined the scene.
As the Stuff reporter approached the property where the incident took place a woman rushed out from the house opposite.
‘‘Just go. Just go. Don’t make me get my dog,’’ she said.
A nearby resident, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said she went to bed around 10pm when she heard the sounds of an argument nearby.
She heard someone yelling ‘‘They are coming back, they are coming back. They are going to kill us,’’ and the sound of people running past outside.
She then heard more yelling, and the sound of cars driving off at speed.
‘‘Someone was yelling ‘Get out of here man. Get out of here.’’’
At one point she heard someone talking about a tomahawk. Someone else cried out ‘‘Dad doesn’t deserve this.’’
‘‘I also heard something about a chainsaw. I don’t know if someone stole something or what that was about.’’
The victim was a man aged about 30, she said.
‘‘He was one of the decent ones. We heard a partner or sister slapping him, trying to revive him.’’
The north Waikato community had been plagued with crime in recent times, the woman said, including vandalism, bur- glaries and one incident where someone had been threatened with a machete.
The cause of the situation was one or two households with gang connections.
‘‘The cops say they can’t do anything. It’s like [the perpetrators] are immune. It’s going to get worse.’’
Another resident, Devon Draper, said earlier in the evening his household had been menaced by some youths who had parked their car in the middle of James St in an apparent attempt to provoke a reaction.
‘‘They were sitting by their car staring in at my stepdad and spitting. Looking for trouble.’’
Later, they had been inside their house when they heard a commotion outside.
‘‘There was screaming, shouting, crying. They ran to two cars and took off,’’ he said.
‘‘I heard them shouting: ‘Why are you leaving, blood?’ ‘I think I killed him, blood.’’’
Draper said his stepfather was the subject of frequent attempts at intimidation, to which he usually gave a gruff response.
‘‘My stepdad, he bites back. He doesn’t take any s***.’’
It was ‘‘just one household’’ that was terrorising the rest of the community, he said.
‘‘You call the cops and they never turn up because it’s so far out of town. By the time they get here, it’s already over.’’
The neighbourhood was shocked but not surprised by what had happened.
‘‘It could have been one of us. Unfortunately, it was the other fella who got it.’’
The man’s body had been removed from the property for a post-mortem examination, Detective Senior Sergeant Nicola Cornes said.
Police continue to examine the scene and have begun speaking to a number of witnesses.
Anyone who has information is urged to call Waikato Police on 07 858 6200.
Information can also be supplied anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
‘‘The cops say they can’t do anything. It’s like [the perpetrators] are immune. It’s going to get worse.’’