Guilty irrespective of different stories

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 575, 28 February 1995, Page 6

Guilty irrespective of different stories

The following cases were heard by Judge Lynton Laing in the Ohakune District Court last Thursday, Police sergeant Luke Crawford of Taumarunui appeared for the prosecution. Remanded in custody Duncan Vincent Metekingi, 19,unemployed of Raetihi was remanded in custody to appear in the Palmerston North District Court on the 1 4 March when he was found guilty and convicted on several charges after a defended hearing. The charges involved two of common assault, one of assault on a female, one of wilful damage and one of using threatening language. All the offences took place between 14 November and 7 January. The prosecution called eight witnesses including Lesley May Hansen, Cameron John Ross, Moana TeKura, Hillary Metekingi and constables Stuart Ngatai, David Thomas Nimmo, Robert Dowman as well as police sergeant Bob Evans of Ohakune. At the start of the hearing lawyer Paul Brown requested and was granted permission by Judge Laing to be excused as appointed defence counsel after explaining that Metekingi had failed to contact him at any time during the remand pe-

riod from 1 5 December last year until the present time despite being left messages and sent letters. Judge Laing told Metekingi that he must represent himself as he had been given every opportunity to obtain legal help. The first witness, Lesley May Hansen, said that she had been sworn at aod threatened on three separate occasions following a confrontation her son Cameron had had with Metekingi over a stereo. On the first occasion she had gone to the Raetihi video parlour to collect her daughter and was called a "f. bitch". On another occasion Metekingi had called out from a passing car outside the Pricecutter supermarket that she was "a slut". On the third occasion, near 4-Square, Metekingi told her that he "would waste me and my family". Sixteen-year old Cameron Ross was the next witness. He confirmed that Metekingi had hit him on the head after accusing him (Cameron) of "ripping off a stereo" belonging to defendant. On the second charge of assault which Metekingi was to answer Cameron Ross said that he had no recollection of be-

ing hit again by defendant outside the Raetihi Fire Station. The assault-on-a-female charge involved Moana TeKura who testified that on the night of 2 January Metekingi had returned home drunk (to his parent' s house where she was staying) and, following an argument, she had been grabbed by her hair before being struCk on both the back and front of her head. The wilful damage charge arose out of the same incident. Hillary Metekingi (mother of the accused) said she had been awakened by the loud noise of a stereo playing in the Iounge room and, on going to investigate, found her son and the previous witness (Moana TeKura) "having words... I'll say no more". An argument developed and defendant was asked to leave the house (because of his drunken state). When he refused to do so, his father was called but defendant had gone upstairs, punching and swearing, and breaking the light switch and a glass-panelled door in the process. Hillary Metekingi then called the police but defendant left the house before they arrived. All four police witnesses confirmed the abo ve detai ls

after interviewing witnesses and obtaining statements from the accused. Policesergeant Bob Evans and constable Robert Dowman both commented on the "visibly upset" appearance of defendant' s parents and of Ms Moana TeKura who was seen to have blood on the collar of her blouse. When defendant elected to enter the witness box and give evidence on his own behalf he said all the previous (civilian) witnesses had been tnistaken. He admitted to drinking "about six bottles of beer and two bottles of whisky with my sister" prior to events on the night of 2 January. In his summing up Judge Laing said that "irrespective of what version of events is to be believed Metekingi must (because of the evidence obtained during cross-examination during which he had admitted to swearing and hitting) be convicted on all charges even though the witness Cameron Ross claims he 'can't remember' the assault outside the Fire Station." He also said "the Court was most impressed with the evidence of Lesley May Hansen". Judge Laing reminded Metekingi that he had had 13 convictions" some invol ving robbery and assault, in two-and-a-half years and had already spent some time in prison including most of last year. He said that before passing sentence on the accused in Palmerston North on 14 March he wanted police to obtain victimimpactreports from each of the (civilian) witnesses to see what sort of effect Metekingi' s 'stand-over' tactics had had on them. "Exceptionally sad case" Pierre Ian Todd, 20, unemployed of Raetihi, appeared for a defended hearing on a charge of assaulting a female to which he had pleaded not guilty in December. The three prosecution witnesses were all local police constables. Constable Steve Hart, sole charge officer at Raetihi police station told the court that the complainant, Marion Matenga, arrived at his residence next to the police station on 6 November last yearin a very distressed state with a "puffy" face and blood on her face and clothing. The second witness, police constable David Thomas Nimmo of Ohakune testified that he had been called by the previous witness and had gone. to the home of the complainant at 18 Ward Street, Raetihi, where he found blood smears on the loungeroom walls as well as a blood-stained towel. He also found Duncan Metekingi at the house

where he (Metekingi) was telling the complainant not to say anything (to the police). Constable Nimmo then left the house temporarily to make some further enquiries and, on returning, found that the defendant, T odd, was also in the house. The complainant told witness that Todd had punched her in the mouth with a clenched fist. Defendant was arrested. The third police witness was constable Robert Dowman of Ohakune who said that he had been called to the Raetihi police station where he found the complainant in a "visibly distressed state with blood on her face and clothing and she was having difficulty speaking". At the complainant' s residence in Ward Street he found a blood-soaked towel on the floor and blood stains on the wall. He left to carry out a patrol to look for the defendant without success but then , after he had returned to the house, he said Todd had come onto the property to ask "what was going on?" Constable Dowman noted defendant had blood on his arm and, when asked for an explanation, Todd had said he had cut his wrist when breaking a car window. After being arrested Todd was driven directly to the Wanganui police station where a doctor was asked to stand by to examine defendant' s injury. The next witness was the complainant who told the Court that she had gone to the Raetihi police station to ask them to remove defendant (with whom she had lived for four years) from her house. Under cross examination in Court last Thursday she denied that Todd had hit her, saying that she had earlier claimed that he haddone so in order to get him out of the house. When defendant Todd took the witney stand he denied hitting the complainant saying that it had only been a "verbal argument" after which he had cut his wrist when he tried to prevent complainant leaving a friend' s car by breaking the car window. He said the argument had developed over his drinking. That day he had consumed three to four cans of beer before returning home. Judge Laing, in his summing up, said that this was an exceptionally sad case because a young girl had been prepared to forfeit all credibility by denying the evidence of a statement which she had signed earlier. "By doing so she confesses to being a liar whose evidence is now worthless" and he warned complainant about the danger of "crying Turn to Page 14

Court

From page 6 wolf ' on some future occasion when the assistance of police may be required. However, because this now "thoroughly discredited" complainant now denied Todd had hit her and had only claimed that he had done so in order to aehieve her own ends at the time and because the Court had to have regard to the fact that defendant was the father of complainant' s child, the charge of assault must now be dismissed because it can no longer-be proved beyond reasonable doubt. 0 Counsel: Paul Brown.