The luring of a man to a house and the lies told after an alleged kidnapping and aggravated robbery were evidence of guilt, a court heard yesterday.
William Taranaki Taingahue Rangi (42) has pleaded not guilty to joint charges of kidnapping and aggravated robbery at his home in Invercargill on December 10, 2020.
The trial continued yesterday in the Invercargill District Court in front of Judge Duncan Harvey.
In an admission of facts read out by Crown lawyer Mick Brownlie, it said Rangi’s co-offender, Mongrel Mob member Rewai Taylor, had pleaded guilty to both charges.
Giving evidence yesterday, Detective Aaron Dempsey said phones belonging to Rangi and the complainant were forensically investigated.
A text message had been sent at 4.23pm on December 10 from Rangi’s phone to Taylor’s phone which said: "You need me to come grab you? He should be here in 30 minutes.’’
In his police evidential interview played in court on Wednesday, Rangi told Detective Fred Shandley he had no contact with Taylor prior to his arrival at his home at 5.40pm on December 10.
In closing, Mr Brownlie said the defendant told a number of lies, starting with luring the complainant under false pretences using a false name, lying about when and how Taylor arrived at the house, lying about them being outside the garage and lying about them having a jovial conversation.
He said the complainant’s police interview was consistent with evidence found at the property.
While CCTV footage showed Rangi in the kitchen of the home between 6.24pm and 6.25pm and again at 6.50pm, it did not show him in there at 6.28pm, when bank records showed $2000 was withdrawn from the complainant’s business account, Mr Brownlie said.
"The two of them had a common intention of stealing money from [the man]. They were both in on it."
He said jurors needed to look at the evidence given by the owner of the botched bathroom, who said Rangi had asked him if he wanted to organise getting the money back from the complainant with the help of a Mongrel Mob member.
While the defendant said it was all Taylor’s doing, the Crown believed it was a two-man job.
"The Crown say the defendant played a part in orchestrating it. He organised it; he arranged for Rewai Taylor to be at his house when the complainant arrived."
Rangi’s lawyer, Sonia Vidal, said two matters were being discussed at the meeting with the three men. One was a drug debt, the other was about making right for the owners of the bathroom.
She said in his police interview the complainant skirted around naming the other man as Taylor, despite knowing him.
She said the banking trail that led to the bank account of the partner of another Mongrel Mob member showed there was a separate debt owed to Taylor.
"The defendant received no money."
Rangi was a family man who was not part of a gang and as a painter, tiler and decorator, was someone who just did not like people being ripped off, she said.
"The defendant did what he needed to do about getting the bathroom situation sorted out.
"He didn’t rob him; he didn’t get any money from him. He had no intention of threatening him or hurting him — there was nothing for him to gain."
The judge will sum up the case this morning before the jury retires to deliberate.
