A group of Mongrel Mob gang members who stormed a Tauranga property triggering actions that led to the death of a 51-year-old man, had no regard for the elderly, women, or children who were there that night.

That’s the view of Mitchell Te Kani’s grieving friends and whānau who appeared in court today for the start of a two-day sentencing for those responsible for the events that night.–

Te Kani died outside his parents’ property in Tauranga in 2002 following a retaliatory attack after patched member Bodine Umuroa was beaten up by Mitchell’s brother, Thomas, just nine minutes earlier.

Umuroa, together with his partner Kiri Pini, and six others were all convicted on a variety of charges after an eight-week trial in the High Court at Hamilton that began in October.

The group all successfully defended Te Kani’s murder but five were found guilty of his manslaughter, while the rest were convicted of serious assault charges relating to his whānau, including his brother, Thomas Te Kani.

Three were found not guilty of causing his death at all, while the jury was unable to reach a verdict for one defendant.

Nine defendants went on trial: Kevin Allan Bailey and Shem Williams, both from Gate Pā; Mihaka Ratahi, of Pāpāmoa; Kiri Mereina Pini and Bodine Umuroa, from Parkvale; Hamiora Bennett from Brookfield; Huntly man Jahvaun Te Ari Layne; and Witaiawa Robinson and Samuel Mark Milosi of Tauranga.

Jamie Robin Thomas, of Rotorua, had his charges dismissed earlier in the trial.

The group’s sentencing began today with Justice Andrew Becroft first hearing five victim impact statements, then the remainder of the day submissions from counsel. He will begin his sentencing properly tomorrow morning.

‘Mongrel Mob holds no mana in my mind’

Te Kani’s sister, Paula Belby, didn’t hold back her disdain for the group, saying how she believed they would soon complain about how they were “a slave to a system” that had let them down.

“The Mongrel Mob ... they hold no mana in my mind, my community.”

Belby said what she knew about the gang was that its members would blame their upbringing and say, “Oh I was born into the gangs, I don’t know any different”.

“They will collude. Well let me jog your memory.

“Any of you remember saying, ‘all red’, on a phone call to each other?

“They will also lie,” she said, referring to another defendant who said he got bitten by a dog while out running.

“They are and always will be in my mind, cowards and bullies.”

A said her “mind spun wildly” after getting a phone call from a relative that her brother had been “attacked by the mob” on their homestead which had been in the whānau for more than 45 years.

“That is my tūrangawaewae.”

Mitchell Te Kani, 51. Photo / Supplied

Her father also suffered a gash to his head which saw him taken back to hospital for further treatment while at his son’s tangi.

“That physical scar remains but the emotional scars that he’s suffered, he is no longer the same.

“For two years after Mitchell’s death my Dad would peer painstakingly down the driveway ... all the while knowing that his son was taken at his own front door.”

Belby said her brother’s killing would not define the whānau.

“We are victims in the eyes of the law, yes, but we are survivors.”

‘The injuries I saw were horrific’

Bebe Hewitt, who was there that night with her son Isaiah, said she can’t “unsee or unhear what I witnessed”.

“The barking, the smashing of glass, the verbal and emotional abuse, the looks on their faces, the intimidation and the weapons.

“The fear, the shock, the grief.

“The injuries I saw were horrific.”

Hewitt said she hadn’t slept well since then.

“My ability to remain focused has significantly affected my work but I am a work in progress.”

She was shocked at how the defendants had no regard for the elderly, women, or children at the property, “no respect for life”.

“We lost a lot that night.

“Peace, normality ... and Mitchell. A man who was well loved and missed by so many, all because he was trying to protect his whānau.”

Hewitt said she chose a long time ago to forgive the defendants, “but I will never forget”.

“May you rest in peace, Mitch.”

Ten people were initially charged with the murder of Tauranga man Mitchell Te Kani. Photo / NZ Herald

‘What happened’

Te Kani died outside his parent’s house late on the evening of Saturday, May 14, 2022, in what the Crown alleged was a retaliatory attack carried out by the gang, after defendant and patched member Bodine Umuroa, was beaten up by Mitchell’s brother, Thomas, in their Maungatapu Rd driveway.

Umuroa, and his then partner and fellow defendant, Kiri Pini, had turned up at the address earlier unannounced looking to grab some of her clothes but also looking for Thomas.

Pini and Thomas were in a long-term relationship and had two children before breaking up in 2017.

Pini then met Umuroa in the months leading up to Mitchell’s murder.

The Crown alleged that the night the pair turned up, Umuroa was aggressive; he admitted a charge of threatening to cause grievous bodily harm to Thomas by saying he would “f****** waste him”.

As the pair left, Thomas and his relative Whetu Hika, got into a fight with Umuroa. Thomas overpowered him and then walked him to his car.

Umuroa was heard saying as he left that he’d be back with “the Rogues”, which was exactly what happened.

Witnesses reported seeing between 20 and 30 gang members turn up in five different cars.

The verdicts

Umuroa was guilty of his six charges, including manslaughter, as was Pini.

Bailey was guilty of the assault charges but found not guilty of manslaughter, along with Williams. However, Williams was found guilty of his two additional perverting the course of justice charges.

Bennett was also guilty of four assault charges but the jury returned a hung verdict for the manslaughter charge.

Layne was found guilty on the four assault charges and a manslaughter charge, along with Robinson and Ratahi, but Ratahi was also guilty of his additional attempt to pervert the course of justice charge.

The jury was unable to decide Milosi’s assault-related charges, returning four hung verdicts, and he was found not guilty of manslaughter.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.