Not guilty of fatal punch attack

AUCKLAND: The man accused of the onepunch fatal attack on an innocent man has been found not guilty.

Carlos Pula had denied the charge of manslaughter in the trial at the High Court at Auckland.

Pula stood with his head bowed in the dock as the unanimous verdict was delivered.

Crown prosecutor Fiona Culiney said he punched Reginald Sharma at a party in August last year, causing his death.

But Mr Pula’s counsel said it was a dark night, witnesses could not get a good look at what happened and his client has a preexisting wrist injury that means he cannot form a fist.

Ms Culiney said Mr Pula had been drinking solidly for hours at a 21st party in Three Kings.

It was early morning when Mr Pula got into a fight with another one of the guests.

‘‘He’d been in an altercation and he’d been pushed over, and hit, and yelled at and he was in fightmode. He was angry and he was looking for someone to take it out on.’’

Ms Culiney said Mr Pula’s attack on Mr Sharma was completely unprovoked.

‘‘He was minding his own business. He didn’t engage in any fighting. He certainly didn’t engage in a fight with this man.

‘‘He didn’t provoke him in anyway. He was just having a good night, having a good time,’’ she said.

‘‘And [Mr Pula] uppercut him, or hit him in the side of the face, just on his left side of his jaw here.

‘‘And he swung his head around and this split an artery in the back of his head.’’

Mr Sharma’s split artery caused bleeding on his brain and he died as a result.

The Crown argued Pula took his anger out on an innocent man and killed him with a single punch. — RNZ