Gisborne-based fishing company fined $13,000 for prohibited fishing; boat and catch seized
The Crown also seized the company's $250,000 fishing vessel and more than $16,000 worth of fish.
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NZ Herald
9 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Erin Patterson: Mushroom killer made secretive visit to tip in hour after fatal lunch
Giving evidence, Ian Wilkinson said Don dropped him and his wife home shortly after 3pm for a scheduled meeting with other members of the Korumburra Baptist Church where he serves as pastor. Meanwhile, Patterson during her time in the witness box claimed she began the clean-up after the quartet left her home. 'I kept cleaning up the kitchen and putting everything away, um, and I had a piece of cake and then another piece of cake and then another,' she said. Patterson said she felt sick and 'brought it back up' – which her lawyers later argued may well explain why she wasn't as sick as the others. Her teenage son gave evidence he helped his mum clean up, before playing the computer game Valorant with a friend. He said later that evening he found his mother upstairs building Lego and asked her to drive the friend home about 7pm. Erin Patterson's house in Leongatha, Australia. Photo / Getty Images During the trial, jurors were shown CCTV footage of Patterson dumping her dehydrator, later found to contain remnants of death cap mushrooms, at the Koonwarra Transfer Station and Landfill on August 4 – a day after she was released from hospital. But they didn't learn this wasn't Patterson's first visit to the tip. In pre-trial hearings earlier this year, Crown prosecutor Sarah Lenthall told the court investigators had discovered Patterson visited the landfill within an hour of the lunch. At 3.29pm on July 29, Patterson arrived at the Koonwarra Transfer Station and Landfill, dropping off an unknown item or items and a small amount of cardboard. Records from the facility indicate she paid $9.50 at 3.51pm for the disposal of items that fell into the categories of '120L' bin and '0.5m pap/card'. The items were not recovered, but it was alleged CCTV captured her disposing cardboard and 'something else'. Stills from CCTV footage of killer mushroom cook Erin Patterson dumping her dehydrator. Photo / Supplied by the court Prosecutors sought to use this, and the element of secrecy by not telling her son, as a basis for the jury to infer the items were connected to the fatal meal and incriminating. Lenthall argued the evidence pointed to Patterson leaving less than 30 minutes after her guests did and that there was plenty of space left in her home bins. 'We say the jury could, acting on the evidence as a whole, accept that the only purpose of making that trip was to dispose of items related to the lunch,' she said. 'It must be due to the nature of the material, rather than the volume of material, as to why she's making that trip.' In response, defence barrister Colin Mandy SC argued the prosecution was seeking to invite 'speculation' when a jury could not draw the logical inference Patterson's visit was incriminating. 'What's been disposed of at the Koonwarra tip could be entirely innocent and nothing to do with any event,' he said. This conduct was ultimately ruled out of the case by trial judge Justice Christopher Beale and business records from the facility were altered before they were shown to the jury to remove mention of the July 29 trip. Justice Beale's reasons for ruling this was inadmissible were released this week along with a series of his pre-trial rulings. He wrote that when a suspect conceals or destroys something, such as a body, a jury could reasonably infer the act amounted to an implied admission of their guilt. But the judge found when the thing in question is itself unknown, it invites the jury to speculate. 'I accept the accused's submission that since Item (a) invites speculation, it fails the test of relevance,' he said. Patterson was found guilty of murdering Don, Gail and Heather and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson following 11 weeks of trial on July 7. She will return to court later this month for a pre-sentence hearing.
NZ Herald
9 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Hundreds of vehicles imported with altered odometers, police and customs allege
After a search of a home and a business last year, Customs said it had identified 133 used vehicles imported since 2020 that had 'understated odometer readings and other false information'. Vehicles imported from Japan require an export certificate from Japanese authorities. Customs said comparison of the Japanese export certificates and documentation when they were brought into New Zealand identified 'discrepancies' with the odometer records and years of manufacture. There were no safety concerns about the vehicles, but buyers in New Zealand had been duped into buying older vehicles than they thought they were getting. NZTA has contacted the affected buyers directly. The police civil action in the High Court at Auckland alleged the syndicate imported 303 vehicles between March 2020 and March 2024. At least 252 of those vehicles were identified as having altered odometers and forged export certificates, the court was told. The civil action was taken against three people and two Auckland-based companies. Police went to court while trying to locate a missing, unregistered Nissan Atlas light truck and 41 missing ignition keys for other vehicles, which they had already seized. The outcome of that search was not immediately known. When asked for further information, police referred inquiries to customs, which they said was leading the criminal prosecution. Customs referred NZME to the information it released last year and declined to comment further while the case was before the courts. However, it confirmed that one of the men named in the civil action, and one of the companies, was also involved in the criminal case. The man faces two charges of importing prohibited goods, eight charges of forgery, and eight charges of dishonestly using a document. A trial has been scheduled for October next year. Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME's Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke's Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.
NZ Herald
16 hours ago
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Mount Maunganui start-up Dispute Buddy wins global grant for legal tech growth
A small legal tech start-up run from Mount Maunganui has won a global growth grant to help establish itself in overseas markets. Dispute Buddy, founded by Jenny Rudd, was one of two start-ups chosen from a pool of 400 New Zealand-based entrants to win a $5000 Airwallex Global Grant.
