A Road Knights patched gang member who tried to get a 13-year-old girl to recant evidence she had given in court was jailed for 16 months when he appeared in Invercargill District Court today.
Judge Kevin Phillips described how Kurt William Lonneker, a 30-year-old fisherman, had struggled to accept a jury's verdict that his father had sexually abused a young child. The prosecution in that case had relied on evidence from the 13-year-old.
On December 14, Lonneker was driving along Dee St, Invercargill, when he saw the girl with a group of her friends. He stopped his car, parked it nearby and approached the girl, backing her up against a wall, swearing at her and yelling derogatory remarks.
He told her to go to his father's lawyer and make a statement to recant her evidence or else he would "put holes in her".
While he was with the girl, other gang members arrived on the scene.
As a result of the incident, Lonneker was charged with threatening grievous bodily harm and wilfully attempting to prevent the course of justice.
Judge Phillips said Lonneker had a number of convictions for violent offending, denying him the right to apply for home detention.
