Armed police arrest man outside Napier's Bollywood restaurant
Police say the arrest of a man by armed officers outside a Napier eatery and gaming machines venue on Monday night was because he was wanted for a breach of bail.
Witnesses told Hawke's Bay Today of seeing a man being taken to the ground about 9.30pm outside the Bollywood
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NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Armed police arrest man outside Napier's Bollywood restaurant
Police say the arrest of a man by armed officers outside a Napier eatery and gaming machines venue on Monday night was because he was wanted for a breach of bail. Witnesses told Hawke's Bay Today of seeing a man being taken to the ground about 9.30pm outside the Bollywood
NZ Herald
26-05-2025
- NZ Herald
On the Up: Napier influencer Gzilla turns pain into purpose with gospel rap
He told Hawke's Bay Today he was always angry and started to become violent. 'Within three years, I got kicked out of six schools.' He got into a cycle of crime, addiction, and gang life in his teens. 'I had all this anger built up in me since a kid, and I just felt like hurting people was the only way to get rid of my pain, so I ended up in prison.' Gzilla was jailed from 2017 to 2018 for violence, including assaulting people. 'When I got out of jail, I had a lot of conflict still to deal with the gangs around here ... in 2019, I ended up getting my house invaded by a whole bunch of my own gang,' he said. 'I got tortured, a ring split my eyebrow, some teeth missing ... dumbbells, machete, I got beaten up, bloody bashed, broken bones, bruised.' The gang demanded $50,000 if he wanted to stay alive. 'They had a bullet with my name carved into it.' Fearing for his life, he turned to a friend – a local pastor – and asked for prayer. 'I thought, 'I'm going to die, I want to make sure I'm right with God. I ask for forgiveness before I die for all the wrongs I've done.'' That moment marked the beginning of a radical shift. The pastor not only prayed with him, but also spoke privately with the gang members. Whatever was said remains a mystery, but Gzilla was then free to go, and decided to restart. On Christmas Eve 2019, he was baptised at Potter's House Church in Napier. During the Covid lockdowns, Gzilla began sharing videos of his diving and fishing missions, something he always loved to do. Now he keeps sharing his new life on social media, and six months ago, he started working fulltime as a gospel rapper under the label Chosen Records. His debut track, centred around kina diving, dropped earlier this month and is the first song of two full albums set to release in the coming weeks. In June, he will kick off a tour, performing in Christchurch, Auckland, Fiji, and Australia. Looking at his past life now, Gzilla says he is grateful he is still alive to live his dreams. 'Life is worth living ... I do a lot of community work, I got to become a father, a husband, and my ultimate dream is to be a pastor one day.' He now has two children, Rico, 8, and Miracle, 1, with a third baby girl on the way, likely to be named Hope. 'I'm able to raise my kids in this safe environment. Now, I'm able to trust that if they follow me, they're going to be okay.' Gzilla says gang members are still in his life, but in a different way now. 'I still talk to them. I pray for them and with them ... Our church is full of them,' he says. 'Nobody's too far gone ... If God can save me, he can save anyone.'
NZ Herald
07-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Former Central Hawke's Bay mayor says Fish & Game rangers ruined duck shooting's opening day by showing up
He contacted Hawke's Bay Today to say the experience had turned sour when two utes arrived at 8.25am on Saturday, carrying four men – two Fish & Game inspectors and two police officers. The vehicles stopped within 75m of the dam, stopping the hunters from shooting, Butler said. He claimed inspectors and police then threw 'health and safety out the door' by walking across a paddock with bulls in it, towards the maimai. 'I don't know what would happen if they'd been dealt to by the bull, whether it would be on our neck I'm not sure,' he said. Jordan said while it's sometimes necessary for rangers to cross paddocks, they're trained to assess risks and, wherever possible, avoid areas with known hazards, such as livestock. Butler said he 'got real grumpy' and came down from his house to confront the inspectors and officers before they could reach the dam. He claimed it would take inspectors more than two hours to check every bit of ammunition, gun, and maimai and effectively ruin one of the two days a year the dam is used. 'It's like going to the races and someone standing in front of the horses for two hours so that you can't race a horse,' he said. 'If they've got a job to do, they've got to find a better way of doing it because what they're going to do is interrupt people shooting every bloody year.' Butler said he felt a way around it might be for the rangers not to go out until after lunch, especially on opening day. Jordan said Fish & Game had the legal authority to undertake compliance checks under the Wildlife Act. 'We are investigating this particular incident and liaising with New Zealand Police. 'We take any refusal to allow rangers to carry out their duties extremely seriously,' Jordan said. 'Opening weekend is the busiest time of the year, and an important opportunity to ensure everyone is hunting safely and legally, along with gathering data for game management purposes. 'Compliance checks are not about catching people out – they are about protecting the integrity of the season, promoting responsible hunting, and ensuring public and hunter safety.' Jordan said rangers always aimed to take a constructive and respectful approach when interacting with hunters and landowners, and in most cases, people were co-operative and respectful. A Fish & Game spokeswoman said rangers in Hawke's Bay issued four non-compliance tickets to duck hunters over the opening weekend. Three were issued for use of a lead shot and one for not having a licence.
