Two men jointly accused of having shot a 15-year-old girl during a road rage incident on Auckland’s Southern Motorway stood before Judge Kathryn Maxwell in Auckland District Court on Friday as they were granted interim name suppression and did not enter a plea.
A 26-year-old Hillpark resident has been charged with wounding with reckless disregard, injuring with reckless disregard and illegal possession of a single 9mm round of pistol ammunition.
His co-defendant, a 25-year-old Mangere resident, was charged with the same two reckless disregard offences but not the ammunition offence.
Police have said they are not ruling out further arrests.
The older man, via his lawyer Marie Taylor-Cyphers, sought interim name suppression until his next appearance in court.
The younger man’s lawyer Jen Holden sought name suppression on the same grounds, which was granted on an interim basis until their next appearance by Judge Maxwell.
The Judge allowed the media to photograph and film the pair only on the condition their faces were blurred.
Judge Maxwell suppressed all arguments and submissions raised in the applications for suppression and bail at the hearing.
A higher bar for name suppression will need to be met at the next hearing, if it is sought. Judge Maxwell also suppressed the name of the victim on an interim basis, and the names of other people in the car.
Both lawyers initially sought bail for their clients, but the applications were adjourned by agreement to next week in Holden’s case and the week after next for Taylor-Cyphers. Police and the Crown indicated in court they would oppose bail for Holden’s client.
Arguments for and against bail cannot be reported at this stage in the court process for legal reasons.
Both men are set to appear in again in court for a hearing where they will enter a plea on June 8.
Judge Maxwell remanded them in custody ahead of their bail application hearings.
Each man could face up to seven years’ imprisonment if convicted of the most serious charge, wounding with reckless disregard.
The duo were arrested overnight, several days after the wounded teen was driven to a St Lukes petrol station, the five family members inside the vehicle seeking refuge after allegedly being pursued by the defendants in a Mazda hatchback for several kilometres.
The rear window had been shattered.
The 15-year-old has since been discharged from hospital, but police have said “it is some luck” that they aren’t investigating a homicide.
The incident is believed to have started late Tuesday night on the Southern Motorway near Mt Wellington Highway and continued north, until reaching St Lukes, Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend previously said.
He said the road rage appears to have been sparked by “hard braking”.
“It is pleasing to see the progress in this investigation so far, and we hope that news of arrests will bring some reassurance to the wider community,” Friend said in a statement this morning. “Police reiterate we have no tolerance for this sort of incident that unfolded on Tuesday night.”
An investigation continues and police have not ruled out further arrests or charges being laid, he said, thanking witnesses who have responded this week to the police’s appeals for more information.
He renewed a request for anyone with information to contact police by calling 105 and quoting file number 230516/7840 or by contacting Crime Stoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111.
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