Supreme Court Warning about gang member

Press, 8 September 1979, Page 4

Supreme Court Warning about gang member

Leaders of the Black

Power Gang in Christchurch were warned by Mr Justice Casey in the Supreme Court yesterday that unless they exercised more control over one of their members he would end up in an institution for a lons time. His Honour ordered that Richard Wiki. aged 19, unemployed, come up for sentence within one year if called upon on a charge of assaulting David Grant McMillan, aged 19, on December 27. Wiki orginallv pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to rob Mr McMillan of a leather jacket valued at $BO and elected trial by jury. During the trial the Crown, added the charge of assault and when Wiki admitted it the charge of attempted robbery was withdrawn. Evidence was given that be accosted Mr McMillan in Cathedral Square and demanded to know which gang he was a member of. Wiki laimed that the leather jacket Mr McMillan was wear;ng belonged to a friend of his who had been put in hospital as a result of a gang incident the previous night. Mr McMillan, a student working as a .farmhand at Cost at the time, was not a member of any gang and had not been in Christ-

church the previous evening. He had come into town on his motor-cycle to book seats for a film which was showing at the Regent Theatre. He then sat on one: of the seats alongside the: Post Office.

Wiki attempted to pull the jacket off Mr McMillan and when he said he was not going to get it Wiki declared: “How are you going, to stop me.” Other members of the gang were nearby. There was a scuffle and the two men fell to the ground fighting. When an

.associate of the gang said I that the police were commgi Wiki tried to get away but Mr McMillan held on toh him. Mr G. M. Brodie, for! Wiki, said that there had l , been no injury to the victim : and the assault had been . committed under the nosesj [of the public and with the; [police not far away. It. was j more of a pushing and pulling match rather than a ■ i.vicious exchange of blows. ■ Wiki had substantial limitations and had a deprived ; and disadvantaged home and 1 emotional background. He < was mentally retarded and i had been almost constantly < in institutions from the age j of 15. He' had snent three. 1 months, in custody on re-11 mand. I Now Wiki was living with i

a group of young men who kept him under some measure of control, Mr Brodie said. If sent to Borstal or prison Wiki would not be able to fit in even with the 'simple routines of those inI stitut ions.

“Look here Wiki,” his Honour said, "you’ve been in a fair bit of trouble lately. Some months ago I gave a warning that if there was any more of this gang violence directed against ordinary members of the community 1. at least, was going to consider imposing the maximum prison sentences for it.

; “We have had enough of [ this sort of thing and memibers of Black Power should i take heed of the warning I have given,” said his Honour. “Wiki, you have got yourself into a situation 'where you may well end up spending a lot of your time :in institutions if you don’t [pull yourself together. You have been in a bit too much: trouble lately and 1 am con- 1 .sidering whether I should [ send you back to prison.” The events in Cathedral Square on that afternoon, had some of the hallmarks I of the stand-over tactics! used by gangs. It was stupid | of Wiki to try and take the l jacket from the young man! he assaulted in broad day-! light in the presence of a number of persons. “However, you weren’t

[stupid enough to do it on your own because you had the backing of other gang members nearby, which is always the case with these ;gang assaults. You have [always got to have someone [else to help you out with [your strong-arm tactics. But on this occasion you took on .somebody who was able to fight back and you were [picked up by the police before things got out of hand,” [his Honour said. i He would accept Mr Brodie’s submission that there was an act of stupidity lon Wiki's part, probably in i keeping with his general I outlook. He also accepted [the probation officer’s conI tention that Wiki’s association with the gang had at 1 least given him a purpose in life and tended to keep him out of some trouble.

“I want to impress on the leaders of your gang that unless they keep a much better control over you than .they appear to be doing, ithen you are going to end [up in an institution and you I will be staying here for a very long time, said his .Honour. If Wiki stayed out of [trouble for the next 12 [months he would hear no more of the matter but if he did not he would be sentenced on this charge as well as on any other offences he got mixed up in. 1

“You had better understand that you have been treated very leniently. I’ve given you another chance but any more of this nonsense and you'll pay dearly,” said his Honour.