But those thousands of pages will be just a few to the thousands more encapsulated in a multitude of folders to be handed out to the jury when they eventually head out to begin deliberations.
Justice Melanie Harland today began summing up the case against nine Mongols gang members or associates, including president Jim ‘JD’ Thacker and vice-president Hone Ronaki
The group have been on trial in the High Court at Hamilton for more than 12 weeks - so long it’s stretched a season, and last week defence counsel for the nine accused and the Crown prosecutor delivered their closing submissions.
Justice Harland outlined the jury will be given multiple folders covering multiple topics, including the vital question trail, witness evidence, expert evidence, picture books and intercepted communications.
She also noted what wasn’t evidence; including what she was saying and also the Crown and defence closing submissions.
“Although they made submissions about the evidence … that is a matter entirely for you.
“They are simply issues they wish to emphasise on behalf of their clients.”
At the centre of those facts was the evidence of the Crown’s key witness, who it described as so reliable he could have been an expert, while defence counsel labelled him a “liar”.
The defence says he had a motive to lie and did lie.
And that was because, it submitted, he was granted electronically monitored bail after he began cooperating with police.
At his sentencing on charges of possession of firearms and molotov cocktails in February 2021, he was then given a “secret deal” by being sentenced to seven months’ home detention.
The judge decided to go through that whole process, from his first arrest in January 2020, sentencing in May, to being rearrested as part of Operation Silk in June 2020, to being granted e-bail in August, before the Solicitor-General confirming he would receive immunity in November of the same year.
At his sentencing in February 2021, she said the judge took a starting point of 4 years’ jail, before offering discounts for guilty plea, cultural report and cooperation with police, which totalled two years. He eventually came to 14 months’ jail after also taking into account his time in custody and on e-bail, which was converted to 7 months’ home detention.
She said home detention wasn’t an easy sentence, “they’re imprisoned in their own home”.
It wasn’t a straightforward process and ultimately the witness’ culpability was decided by a judge. The defence also pointed at the “significant contact” made by police to the witness – 109 occasions.
When questioned, the witness said they were mostly texts and phone calls to check on him and his family’s safety.
The defence also suggested the witness was given incentives; being able to keep a Harley Davidson which wasn’t claimed back under the Proceeds of Crime Act, bond, power bills.
The witness said he was only given help to relocate to address his family’s safety.
However, the judge said that just because he may have had an incentive, that it didn’t mean he gave false evidence.
“If you think he has lied, don’t jump to conclusions about other things. It’s not an all or nothing issue.”
She also said to look at the “disbenefit” of giving evidence; in the witness’ case, endangering the lives of him and his family, he claimed.
As for the accused, just because some had admitted charges already, it didn’t mean they committed the remaining offences.
“Cases like this can give rise to an emotional response … drug use, gangs to methamphetamine use.
“The lifestyles described are likely to be alien to you.
“You must put all emotional responses to one side.”
Justice Harland’s summing up continues this afternoon.
* The other defendants are South Island president Jason Ross, 46, sergeant at arms Leon “the wolf” Huritu, 39, Kelly Petrowski, 28, Matthew Ramsden, 45, Kane Ronaki, 24, Te Reneti Tarau, 26, and a 28-year-old Auckland man with interim name suppression.
-By Belinda Feek
Open Justice multimedia journalist
