Man ‘should be in custody’

Press, 1 March 1989, Page 12

Man ‘should be in custody’

A man, whom the prosecutor said in the District Court yesterday should be in custody until 1990, appeared for two offences committed last month. After a defended hearing the defendant, Lance Wayne Waite, aged 29, unemployed, was convicted of a charge that with Chad Puru he behaved in a threatening manner that was likely to cause violence against people in the public bar of the Hornby Trust Hotel. Judge Frampton remanded Waite in custody to March 14 for a probation report and sentence on this charge, and for a charge, to which he had earlier pleaded guilty, of unlawfully possessing a .22 rifle on January 26.

Waite, who was represented by Mr T. J. Twomey, had defended

the charge of behaving in a threatening manner in the hotel bar, and a related charge of having unlawfully in the public bar two offensive weapons, a tomahawk and an iron bar.

After hearing the prosecution and defence evidence the Judge convicted Waite of the first offence, but dismissed the charge of having the offensive weapons.

Waite had been charged as being a party to the offence committed by Puru, who had carried the two weapons into the bar. Puru admitted the two offences last month.

When Waite was being remanded for sentence Sergeant Roswell said his record showed he had been sentenced in the Auckland High Court in November, 1987, to cumu-

lative prison terms totalling two years nine months for offences involving violence.

He said this would indicate that Waite should be serving a prison sentence until about August, 1990. He did not know why Waite was out of prison. The Judge, directing that a probation report be obtained by the sentencing date, also asked that inquiries he made about the cumulative prison sentences imposed in Auckland.

In yesterday’s defended hearing of the charges relating to the incidents at the Hornby Trust Hotel evidence was given that a patron accompanied a woman into the car-park after she saw persons interfering with her car.

Puru and Waite were seen near another car,

wearing gang patches, with two women. After the woman car owner asked the group what they had been doing in her car, threats were made by the two women. Puru went to the boot of a car and removed something, and placed it behind his jacket.

He and Waite then made threatening gestures.

Puru was then seen to be holding a tomahawk. He was being encouraged by Waite.

After the car owner and the man with her returned to the bar Puru and Waite entered the bar, Puru carrying the tomahawk and an iron bar.

Waite had a hand up his sleeve as though he had a weapon there, but no weapon was seen.

The two men left after between five to seven minutes after further goading of the complainant, but no fight ensued. At no stage was Waite seen with a weapon. In evidence Waite said that while in the car park he was approached by a man yelling out to his group to get out of the car.

Waite got out and the man asked him to remove his jacket and have a fight. Waite said he did not say anything to the man or his friends, and followed Puru into the bar after seeing him take a tomahawk from a car boot. He followed Puru to make sure he did not do anything foolish. He did not see Puru take an iron bar.