Accused not wanted at funeral
THREE men allegedly involved in the bottle store burglary that ended with one man dead have been informed they are not wanted at the funeral.
The men appeared in the Dunedin District Court by audio visual link yesterday, withdrawing their application for compassionate bail to attend their associate’s funeral after the victim’s family expressed their desire for the men to remain in prison.
Michael McLelland died at the scene of a car crash after allegedly helping to break into the BottleO, next to Bathgate Park, in Hillside Rd.
He and four others allegedly cut the locks off a storage garage with boltcutters and took six crates of beer, valued at $300.
They are accused of fleeing the scene before crashing into a power pole in Melbourne St.
A spokeswoman said police were called to the liquor store on May 27 at about 1.25am.
A short time later officers found the vehicle and attempted to stop it. However, the driver refused to stop. Less than a minute later, the driver lost control of the car at high speed and skidded about 50m down the street before the fatal crash.
In court, two of the men presented with visible injuries; one with his hand in a cast and the other with wounds to his face.
Counsel John Westgate delivered the news to his clients, informing them he would not be pursuing the application as the dead man’s family were first priority in these matters — and they did not want the men to attend the funeral.
He informed the men the funeral would be livestreamed and they may be able to watch it from prison.
The four defendants, who have name suppression, are due to appear in court again later this month.
Yorin Engelke (4) rides his bike on the new half pipe at Macandrew Bay playground as his mother Katrin and brothers Runis (19 months) and Paavo (9 weeks, in front pack) Engelke play in the background on Thursday.
The halfpipe ramp features a Skatelite surface and, at 4.8m wide and 8.4m long, is bigger than the old ramp at the park. It was completed along with a basketball halfcourt at Ralph Ham Park in Macandrew Bay by the Dunedin City Council on Friday last week.
The halfcourt is 10m wide and 14m long and, although marked up for basketball, it can be used by people of all ages for other ball games.
The ramp and court cost $100,000 and were part of the implementation of the DCC’s Place Spaces Plan.