Unexpected twist in gang boss’s trial
The trial of gang boss Elder Browne has taken an unexpected turn after three of the four charges were dismissed by a judge shortly before a witness took responsibility for the drugs related to the remaining charge.
Browne, the president of the Tribesmen motorcycle gang, was charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply, possession of LSD, possession of counterfeit banknotes, and failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges on Monday, the first day of his trial in the Christchurch District Court. Browne was arrested on July 29 after being under police surveillance for almost two weeks prior.
The car he was using, a Subaru Legacy, was seized and $15,000 worth of methamphetamine was found in a plastic bag hidden behind the petrol flap. Police also found three LSD tablets in the compartment of the driver’s door, and 14 forged $50 notes in a dashboard compartment.
Browne was charged with failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search after he declined to give police the PIN to his cellphone.
Earlier in the trial, Constable Claire Bennison testified that Browne said he did not know the PIN to his phone, but offered to open the phone using his thumbprint. Bennison said this was not sufficient as investigators would not be able to access the phone again once it automatically locked.
The jury heard earlier that Steven Woods, an associate of the Tribesmen at the time, had told police weeks after Browne’s arrest that the forged notes and LSD belonged to him. Woods was also the registered owner of the Subaru vehicle.
He denied that he was trying to take the fall for Browne because of his position in the gang.
Detective Amy Marshall said Woods was not charged in relation to the counterfeit notes or drugs despite his confession, because the only evidence against him was his own admission.
Yesterday afternoon a second member of the gang took to the witness stand to claim responsibility. Alexander John Powell, 33, a patched member, testified the methamphetamine found in the Subaru belonged to him, and he had hidden the drugs behind the petrol flap when he attended a boxing class with Browne on the morning of July 29.
Powell said he forgot to retrieve the drugs after the class and only realised that when he heard Browne had been arrested.
Powell said Browne had no knowledge of the meth, and would not have approved if he knew Powell was using the drug. Crown prosecutor Mitchell McClenaghan asked Powell if he was putting his own freedom on the line to protect his gang president, but Powell denied that and said he was only testifying to ‘‘get it off [his] chest’’.
Defence lawyer Tudor Clee made an application to have the charges against his client dismissed, stating there was not enough evidence to convict him.
Judge O’Driscoll directed the jury that it only had to give a verdict on one charge of possession of methamphetamine for supply.