A judge has issued a stern warning to a gang member involved in the kidnapping and assault of an innocent man, telling him to leave the victim alone and “treat him with absolute respect” once he gets out of jail, knowing the pair will likely bump into each other in the small King Country town of Te Kūiti. 

Jacob Wirepa, together with three other Mongrel Mob members, stole the victim’s work vehicle and personal belongings, before one assaulted and threatened the man last year, leaving him battered and bruised. 

Judge Noel Cocurullo slammed the group’s behaviour as he jailed Wirepa for his part in the incident the Hamilton District Court this week, adding that if he didn’t respect the victim going forward, “the full force of the law will come down upon you”. 

The 27-year-old was also on bail for other charges when he got involved in the drawn-out kidnapping, for which the judge ruled he played a lesser role than his co-accused. 

The circumstances were frightening for the victim, who was intimidated, threatened, kidnapped, robbed, and assaulted by members of the group throughout the morning of October 15, 2022. 

The man, who isn’t connected to any gang, had been drinking with workmates at the Riverside Bar in Te Kūiti the night before. 

A group of women asked to borrow jumper leads and he offered his and helped start their car. Later he asked one of the women for a ride home and gave her $20. 

The next morning, he realised he had left his keys in her car and arranged to get them back. 

He was instead confronted by one of Wirepa’s co-accused, who told him he had a pistol in his pocket and how “important he was as a patched gang member”. 

He forced the victim to walk with him to a house in Tawa St, before they left and drove to park outside the Waitomo Club. The co-accused then kicked the victim out of the car and told him to run before the “other guys” got there. 

The victim went into the Waitomo Club and told some associates what happened, before heading to a friend’s house and then getting a call on his Apple watch. He arranged to meet the caller outside the Muster Bar. 

As the victim walked there he noticed his work car driving towards him and waved it down. 

Inside was Wirepa and another defendant who got out and asked him to sign his vehicle over to them as payment. 

The victim said he couldn’t as it was a work vehicle, but feeling threatened and concerned for his safety, he gave the pair money instead. 

The fourth accused then arrived and demanded his Apple watch and patted him down, taking his sunglasses, tobacco, coins and his watch. He told the victim not to tell “the pigs” that he’d robbed him. 

Wirepa and two of his co-defendants got into the car with the victim. He was then assaulted by two of the others by being punched and hit in the head and threatened and told to transfer or withdraw money for them. 

They ended up at an ATM on Rora St where the victim eventually managed to run to freedom. 

Wirepa’s counsel, Kerry Burroughs, said his client had “good family members” who were not part of a gang and were the ones he now sought to surround himself with. 

He was also the first of the group to be sentenced. 

“He has enough wherewithal to know he can have a better life and it’s up to him to take that.” 

Wirepa accepted his role in the incident and had taken part in a successful restorative justice conference with the victim. 

Judge Cocurullo quizzed Burroughs on Wirepa’s perceived remorse and whether he was willing to get out of the gang life. 

“I haven’t read anything about a decision to move away from gangs because this offending was ensconced in gang culture,” the judge said. 

“This is gang modus operandi to do a staunch standover in this way and tax people in this way. 

“I have seen nothing from him to say, ‘actually I’ve now appreciated that my offending was ensconced in the ethos of the Mongrel Mob’.” 

Burroughs said it was the more recent death of Wirepa’s mother that had been the catalyst for him to change, knowing that would make her proud. 

Judge Cocurullo accepted Wirepa was currently in jail and in a difficult position to try to get out of a gang, however, he wanted the message sent that “these are not the rules that we live in but the courts will deal with it”. 

He was jailed for two years and five months on charges including kidnapping, demands with menace, and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle. 

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for eight years and been a journalist for 19.