Business owner feared for his life
Restaurateur thought at one point attack was attempted murder
APapakura business owner feared for his life as he was repeatedly beaten with bricks and robbed outside his restaurant.
Red Earth Eatery and Wine Bar co-owner Chris Turner is recovering in Middlemore Hospital with a broken rib and serious facial injuries, including a fractured eye socket and multiple deep cuts, after being brutally attacked at 11.20pm on Monday.
Turner was finishing some administrative work at the restaurant on Papakura’s main street when he walked out of his office into the corridor to meet face-to-face with five men and youths aged between 13 and 18.
His attackers, wearing dark street clothes and baseball caps, had walked through the back door which was open as Turner had been working on some displays in the back carpark.
Turner confronted them about what they were doing and they said: “What are you going to do about [it]?”
The 32-year-old then told them to get out and they replied with the same question.
Turner said he shoved them towards the door and the group turned on him and started hitting and punching him with bricks they had hidden in their hands.
“There was one guy, the main leader of the group, who was the most violent, but I got the distinct impression they were all beating on me,” Turner told the Herald from his hospital bed. The young men, who he believed to be Maori, then dragged him out of the corridor and into the car park at the back of the shop, giving him a gravel rash.
A brick was hurled at his chest, cracking a rib.
As they attacked him, the leader of the group directed the others to go inside to steal things, while another stole the watch from Turner’s wrist.
“At one point I thought this is attempted murder, this is not a violent robbery.”
Blood was pouring from his eyes and his vision was foggy as he limped back into the building to call 111.
Turner was transported to Middlemore by ambulance where the deep cuts to his face required stitches and police spent yesterday at Red Earth looking over CCTV footage.
“It’s at the point where Papakura business owners need to arm themselves,” he said.
“I hope they get them. It’s really sad because there is a huge amount of really good people in Papakura.”
Turner said one of the alleged attackers returned to Red Earth yesterday morning, bragging to a staff member about how he had beaten and robbed his workmate. He then punched the worker, which was when police inside the restaurant for the investigation arrested him.
Detective Senior Sergeant Karen Bright said an 18-yearold man has been charged with aggravated robbery and would appear in the Papakura District Court this morning.
Anyone with information can contact Counties Manukau Crime Squad on 09 261 1321, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.