Cyclists pelted with glass bottles by teenager
RNZ / REECE BAKER
A teenager has been arrested after cyclists competing in a Hawke's Bay race last month were pelted with glass bottles.
On Saturday 19 April, people were seen throwing bottles at cyclists from a black ute on Mutiny Road in Poukawa, police said.
One person was hit and fell off their bike, but they were not seriously injured.
An 18-year-old man, who was a passenger in the ute, faces two charges of assault with a weapon and is due to appear in Hastings District Court on Friday.
Police seized the ute and are trying to speak with the driver.
"We would like to take this opportunity to remind road users that cyclists are legal road users under the Land Transport Act, who will on occasion ride two abreast, particularly in organised ride or race situations," said acting Detective Sergeant Steve Leonard.
"Please be patient and overtake when safe to do so for all parties, ensuring everyone arrives at their destination safely."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Jailed Facebook fraudster Monaro Kerr-Wilson has more prison time added to sentence
By Belinda Feek, Open Justice reporter of Monaro Kerr-Wilson, 21, in the Hamilton District Court at an earlier hearing. Photo: Open Justice / Belinda Feek A Facebook fraudster already behind bars for scamming people out of $30,000 worth of property has been given more jail time for another con. In February, Monaro Kerr-Wilson was sentenced to 22 months' imprisonment after he "bought" two vehicles, one for $20,000 and the other for $10,000, from people on Marketplace in October last year. But he didn't really buy the cars. He used a fake screenshot from his bank account to convince the owners the money had gone through and then took the vehicles. This week, he returned to Hamilton District Court, this time by audio-visual link from prison, to be sentenced on another charge of obtaining by deception relating to a third vehicle. In his latest scheme, the 21-year-old was operating with a co-offender. The pair contacted the victim last year, who was selling his red 2005 Holden Commodore on Facebook Marketplace for $12,000. They met at a service station in Hampton Downs and Kerr-Wilson agreed to pay the $12,000 through an online bank transfer. The victim invited Kerr-Wilson to test drive the car, to which he said, "no", while the co-offender gave a name that she used in "multiple other Facebook scams". The co-offender completed "what appeared to be" a genuine online payment in front of the victim, and then sent him a screenshot of it. After the victim thought he'd been paid, he handed over the keys and left. However, the victim did not received the $12,000. Police found Kerr-Wilson driving the victim's stolen Holden a few hours later. When questioned by officers, he said he had "no idea" about the theft allegation. However, at the latest sentencing, Kerr-Wilson's counsel, Rhiannon Scott, told Judge Noel Cocurullo the latest offence was "effectively a wash-up charge" as it happened about the same time as his previous offending. The difference was that he wasn't charged with the third offence until this year. That meant Judge Cocurullo couldn't sentence him afresh, leaving him to determine what sentence Kerr-Wilson would have been given in February if sentenced on all three charges. Scott suggested an additional prison sentence of two to four months, which prompted the judge to note that if Kerr-Wilson had been jailed on all charges earlier, he would likely already be out of prison. If a person is jailed for two years or less, they are eligible for release after serving half of their sentence. However, if they are sentenced to more than that much jail time, they are eligible for parole after serving one-third of the sentence. "It's actually counted against him because if it was there at the time of sentencing he might have tipped outside the 24 months, with eligibility at one-third ... he probably would have got something like two years and two months, maybe a bit longer, which means after about nine months he could have been paroled," the judge noted. Kerr-Wilson was jailed for an additional four months and ordered to pay the latest victim $500, which would go towards his insurance claim. This spate of offending is not the first for Kerr-Wilson. In 2022, when he was aged 18, he was sentenced on 15 charges for similar offending. This story was first published by the New Zealand Herald .

RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
Coward punch victims and families call for faster law changes
Taranaki man Ben Leng was given hours to live after a coward punch attack in New Plymouth. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Ben Leng considers himself lucky to be alive. Spread on his kitchen table in rural Taranaki are photos illustrating the impact of what he describes as "the worst day in his life". They are photos so harrowing he does not want to share them, but just get on with his life. In one, he is lying in a hospital bed in an induced coma after being blindsided by "sort of a coward's punch" thrown by New Plymouth bouncer Taylor Watkins in December last year. A coward punch, also known as a king hit, is a strike to the head or neck, often delivered from behind, usually unprovoked and without warning. Another photo shows the gaping wound where surgeons had earlier removed part of his skull to reduce swelling. The third image is a scan showing the titanium plates now keeping his skull together. The 29-year-old builder said following the assault his partner and his parents were told he only had hours to live if he did not get emergency surgery. "Flip of the coin really, it could've gone either way, and I'm definitely lucky. And it's a few things that are keeping me positive, and that's one of them, that I'm still here." Leng said the experience was toughest on those close to him. "My partner was seven months pregnant with our first child. My parents ... don't talk to Mum about it because she still gets moved by it. "It was the hardest thing they've had to go through in terms of seeing their son almost be a dad and then almost get taken away from them. That's probably the hardest thing that they could ever see." Leng, who is now focused on being the best dad and partner he could be, is joining calls for the faster introduction of new laws , including harsher penalties for coward punches. He will take part in a march in New Plymouth on Friday, organised by the family of Daniel Nganeko. The 37-year-old died after being punched outside the Tukapa Rugby clubrooms , in what police described as an unprovoked attack. His head struck the footpath. Daytona Thompson, 22, has been charged with manslaughter and was due to appear in court on the same day . Daniel Nganeko. Photo: Supplied Leng said on the night he was assaulted, 28 December, 2024, he and his brother Max and some rugby mates from England had been out drinking in New Plymouth. He admits he had been misbehaving and tried to enter a bar with a couple of pre-mixed drinks in his pocket and had been refused entry, then later got into a fight with security after trying to re-enter the bar to retrieve his mates after ditching his drinks. The police summary of facts said after the initial fight, Watkins and another bouncer followed the Leng brothers as they walked away from the bar and continued to argue with them. "Without warning the defendant swung a punch with a closed left fist hitting Leng in the jaw. Due to the nature of the punch Leng was unable to defend himself. "The punch caused Leng to immediately lose consciousness and drop to the ground. When he dropped to the ground, Leng's head impacted with the concrete paved ground with an audible sound." Watkins admitted a charge of injuring in circumstances that if death had occurred he would have been charged with manslaughter. Last week, he was sentenced to 12 months' home detention and ordered to pay $15,000 in reparations to Leng. After the attack, Leng was in a coma for seven days, followed by four days in ICU and two and a half weeks in a brain rehab centre. "I got taken straight to Taranaki Base Hospital, and then when they saw the severity of the brain injury ... I literally had 15 to 18 hours, which would have been death, unless I got surgery. So at 2am roughly, I got transferred via helicopter straight to Wellington, which put me straight into surgery." He remembers the surreal experience of waking from the coma. "No emotion, nothing. I just remember opening my eyes, seeing my parents at my feet with about four nurses, five nurses, and just thinking I was in a movie. "And not having any emotion because of the head injury, just numb, zero, nothing. Literally not panicked, nothing. It was just like my eyes were open, but nothing was working in my brain." Ben Leng considers himself lucky to be alive. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin The once busy builder had not been able to work since the assault and was suspended from driving for six months. "In terms of like to get back to normal, it's still ongoing. So that could be a year, it could be two, it could be three. It's hard to know, really, it's just day by day, but the first two or three months were the biggest in terms of getting back to reality and figuring out what happened." Leng did not think Watkins' sentence reflected the nature of the offending, especially for someone supposed to be keeping people safe. "To be allowed to stay at home on 12 months home detention at the cost of taxpayers, I just don't think it suits the seriousness of his actions in terms of how close I came to death. "A coward's punch, a king hit, a sucker punch, whatever you want to call it, just shouldn't be accepted because more often than not, when someone can't defend themselves, the injuries are going to be a lot more severe." In June, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the government would legislate to ensure coward punches were treated as a specific offence and sentences reflected the gravity of the crime. "We know how dangerous they are. People can be killed or suffer lifelong brain injuries, yet perpetrators often receive lenient and insufficient sentences," he said. The new legislation would include: The legislation fulfils part of National's coalition agreement with New Zealand First. The new criminal offences for coward punches were being introduced as part of a Crimes Act Amendment Bill which also included a specific offence for attacking a first responder, the new shoplifting infringement regime, strengthened trespass laws and strengthened human trafficking laws. Goldsmith aimed to introduce the Bill before the end of the year, and have it passed into law before the next general election. For Leng and the Nganeko family the law change could not come fast enough. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

1News
13 hours ago
- 1News
'Unique' espionage trial of a NZ soldier to be heard next week
A soldier with links to far-right groups and who is accused of spying will face a court martial hearing next week – a first-of-its-kind prosecution shrouded in secrecy for now. The Linton-based soldier's name is suppressed and so is the foreign country at the centre of the espionage case, as well as the names of some prosecution expert witnesses. RNZ was opposing these orders and a suppression hearing was scheduled for next Monday morning, before the court martial would begin. In late 2020, 17 charges under the Armed Forces Discipline Act were laid against the soldier, including espionage and possessing objectionable material. Since then, the case has wended its way through pre-trial hearings. ADVERTISEMENT RNZ has previously reported the soldier, aged 27 at the time of his arrest, was a member of far-right groups the Dominion Movement and Action Zealandia. First of its kind A similar case 50 years ago tried and acquitted Bill Sutch in the civilian court of espionage, for passing information to the Russians. Next week's court martial is the first military case. "I think 'unusual' is not the right term," said retired Auckland University law professor Bill Hodge about the prosecution. "I think 'unique' might be the correct term." Hodge said the suppression orders appeared extensive. "I've always been surprised that there could be information held by the armed forces, which absolutely had to be kept top secret. ADVERTISEMENT "There maybe information about the citizens of a foreign jurisdiction and what they're doing here, but still, that would be of public interest." Hodge said military courts were historically ahead of civilian ones on matters of justice and fairness, although they might hold concerns about making information public. "Remember, the background of a military court would concern hostilities and [be] in the face of the enemy. In that sort of situation, that sort of context, they would be greatly concerned with information that would aid the enemy. "I don't see an enemy at this moment, so I'm still mystified at what secrecy they'll be pursuing." Military panel to hear the case One difference between courts martial and civilian courts is that, instead of a jury, a panel of senior military officers hears the evidence, and decides on a defendant's guilt or innocence, and – if applicable – their sentence. In his previous career in the military, Hodge sat on these panels. ADVERTISEMENT "A military court is concerned with fairness, right to counsel, the insanity defence, for example, the discovery of information," he said. "One thing I could say firmly is the individual will have a fair trial, because in my experience, it's a fair system." David Pawson is an experienced court martial counsel and, in 30 years – firstly with the military police, then as a lawyer – he has never seen a similar case. "When I was a military police special investigator – that was at the end of the Cold War period – and even during that period, I was not aware of any investigation of that sort of nature. I have to say that was a new one to me." The system was robust and transparent, he said. "The court martial, in my experience, has always been very careful not to be seen as a secretive court and generally does apply those principles the same way that they do in the civil court." This meant the starting point for suppression decisions was open justice. Another experienced court martial lawyer, Michael Bott, said talking to a military panel was somewhat different to addressing a jury. ADVERTISEMENT "There are military values you have to take into account and also, with a court martial, it's governed by the Armed Forces Discipline Act, as opposed to the Criminal Procedure Act, but the Bill of Rights still applies. "When you're doing an opening and a closing, the processes and techniques are pretty much transferable." He said suppression arguments at courts martial sometimes included matters not applicable to civilian courts, such as national security. Hodge said he didn't think the court martial would reflect badly on New Zealand's reputation. "I think there's the opposite argument that the allies could say, 'New Zealand is alert, New Zealand is sufficiently concerned about this matter and they're looking after whatever information this might be'. "While you could say, 'Is New Zealand a leaky sieve?', no, New Zealand is behaving properly and attending to the disciplinary side of a possible breach." If the soldier was found guilty next week, he wouldn't face the death penalty. This was removed from military law in 1989, but sentences for courts martial ranged from losing rank to a lengthy term in military prison. ADVERTISEMENT