The vice president of the Manga Black Power chapter has been sentenced to 15 years in jail in relation to the deaths of two Bay of Plenty men.
Richard Te Kani appeared in the High Court in Rotorua today, where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to two charges of manslaughter in relation to the deaths of Raymond and James Fleet in Mamaku Forest on August 7 last year.
He was also sentenced on two counts of manufacturing methamphetamine, one count of accessory after the fact to murder and four charges of child neglect.
Te Kani is the fourth person to be sentenced in connection to the Fleet double murders. Read more here.
Crown prosecutor Duncan McWilliam said that while Te Kani was not present at the actual murders, he would have been aware of the potential for fatal violence to take place.
Te Kani's lawyer Andy Schulze accepted his client's involvement in taking Raymond and James into the bush, but said things were "relatively calm" until the arrival of Martin Hone.
He also said Te Kani helped defuse the initial violence, was not present at the murders, and had shown remorse in the wake of the killings.
Before sentencing Justice Paul Davison addressed the Fleet family in the gallery.
"This sentencing today is to hold Mr Te Kani legally accountable for this role. . . but the pain and sadness you feel will endure long after this sentencing."
-Additional reporting by Stuff.co.nz
1 comment
Quiet Reading
Posted on 29-11-2018 12:00 | By Hugh Janis
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503438&objectid=10931161
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