The grandfather knew a kaumātua in Queenstown who could help. “I know in my own experience it was a return to te ao Māori that was what made a difference,” he said. Rapata-Brookland, of Queenstown, was found guilty by a jury in October of injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Defence lawyer Michael Walker said Rapata-Brookland was an extremely gifted athlete, and Judge Bernadette Farnan later told the court he excelled at rugby, running and had other athletic prowesses. Walker said he was seeking what amounted to a second chance for the defendant. The court was told Rapata-Brookland was doing an apprenticeship and was well-regarded at work and about 10 friends and family were in court to support him.
Police carried out search warrants at three Invercargill houses on Monday. (File photo)
Two people were arrested during a Southland police operation focused on the activities of the Mongrel Mob in Invercargill on Monday. Search warrants were executed at three houses. Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Baird said two 40-year-old men were arrested and appeared in the Invercargill District Court on Monday charged with kidnapping and aggravated robbery in relation to an incident earlier this month. One of the two men was also charged with the possession of an illicit firearm and ammunition.
READ MORE:
An Invercargill man was sentenced to intensive supervision and community work for objectionable publication offences.
A warning system built into a Canadian messaging app alerted New Zealand authorities that someone in Invercargill had uploaded a child exploitation image. The apps trust and safety team, which works to identify child exploitation material offences alerted Canadian police in November 2018, which then triggered an investigation into a labourer living in Invercargill. The messaging app company provided the IP address used by the cellphone to upload the image, and inquiries in New Zealand identified that the address belonged to the man s house. In March 2019, police seized computers, external hard drives, gaming consoles, tablets and a phone, Samsung Galaxy Note 9 from the man s house. However, police did not find the device referenced by Canadian authorities.
“The attack was so frenzied the victim discovered one goat s windpipe sitting separated from his body,” the summary says. The victim secured one of the dogs and police secured the other, before they were taken to the city pound. The city council sought the destruction of the dogs, and Judge John Brandts-Giesen agreed when sentencing Philp in Invercargill District Court judge on Thursday. Though Ocean, the brindle collie was the ring leader, Elly, the staffordshire bull terrier, was “part of the action”, he said. An emotional Philp asked the judge if she could “be there” when her dogs were destroyed.