Home invasion charges Covid limits to go?

A Christchurch eye surgeon arrested after an alleged home invasion in the port of Lyttelton has pleaded not guilty to one charge of attempted murder. Police received a report of an assault at a home on St Davids St in Lyttelton at 7.45pm on August 4. “Two people are being treated, one of them for serious injuries, one of them for moderate injuries,” police said at the time, adding that the people involved were known to each other. A man was arrested at the scene and later appeared at the Christchurch District Court charged with intending to cause grievous bodily harm to two people and using a pistol as a weapon. New charges were laid at a later appearance, including an allegation that he attempted to murder a man during the incident. In the High Court at Christchurch yesterday, Ian William Dallison, 65, from the suburb of Merivale, entered a not guilty plea to a charge of attempted murder. Justice Andru Isac remanded Dallison in custody to November 10 and was told there is a potential trial date of February 2024.

New Zealand could soon be ditching Covid-19 restrictions as infection and hospitalisation rates are the lowest they have been in seven months. There were 1483 new cases of Covid19 and nine virus-related deaths, announced yesterday. There are 243 cases in hospital, including five in ICU.