Tension after Nelson shooting

PATRICK HAMILTON/ The Nelson Mail

WATCHFUL VIGIL: Two passersby stay with Troy Minto's body after Saturday's shooting in Branford Park.

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Tight security surrounded Nelson District Court this afternoon as the man charged with murdering a 22-year old man in a city park early on Saturday evening appeared with four associates also charged in relation to the death.

Blair Robert McNaughton, 24, of Richmond, entered no plea on the charge of murdering Anthony Troy (known as Troy) Minto at Branford Park and of being in possession of a firearm and unlawful assembly. He was remanded in custody to next appear on Friday.

Police were present in and outside the courtroom, with people entering the courthouse being searched before being allowed in and armed offenders squad members surrounding the courthouse entrance.

Appearing alongside McNaughton were four associates, Blake Paul Cunnard, 23, of Timaru, Isaac Crawford Warren, a 20-year old labourer, Samual Ingram Gillbanks, a 22-year old labourer, and Jared Matthew Perry, a 22-year old bartender, all of Nelson. Each entered no plea on charges of possession of a firearm and unlawful assembly and were all remanded in custody to reappear on Friday.

Nelson Bays area commander Detective Inspector John Winter said a dispute over a woman was central to the fatal shooting, which happened after a fight between two groups of men.

The fight was pre-arranged by text message, he said.

Police were initially called with reports of up to 12 people fighting. Police were still piecing together where the men had been before the incident.

He said the woman at the centre of the dispute was the girlfriend of one of the victim's friends and the ex-girlfriend of another man from the other group. The victim was not connected to the woman, Mr Winter said.

He said police were aware that a baseball bat, cricket bats and even knuckle dusters were also used in the fight. A white ute was seen leaving the scene and a wooden baseball bat was left lying partly on the road.

Mr Winter would not comment on a suggestion that Mr Minto had been stepping in to intervene in the fight when he was shot.

Mr Winter said this morning that tensions between the two groups had been "escalating and boiling away" for three months, but Saturday was the first time police had got involved.

The firearm used was recovered by police on Saturday night.

He said the men were not gang members but were "all pretty much known to police".

The use of a shotgun in a confrontation has shocked many people in Nelson.

However, Mr Winter said the public should not be unduly anxious. "There's no suggestion that everybody is carrying knives and guns around Nelson. People don't need to be too concerned, we are dealing with it as an isolated incident."

Mr Winter said that interviews with witnesses were continuing.

He said no final decision had yet been made on whether charges would be laid against the other group involved in the dispute, but that would be reviewed once all information had been gathered and assessed.

Four of the arrested men were caught by police at a Richmond address by the armed offenders squad about 11pm on Saturday night.

"It was a deliberate AOS operation. We had a number of addresses that were searched and it was at one of these addresses the four men were found leaving," Mr Winter said.

A fifth man was arrested by police in Motueka about noon yesterday, and police recovered a vehicle from Motueka which would be examined by ESR staff.

Mr Winter said there was "a lot of tension out there" which police had been told about in relation to today's court appearance, so additional security would be in place.

Police were not sure how many people had left the scene of the fight before talking to police and they wanted to hear from witnesses they had not spoken to. Police also wanted to speak to a second group of people who may have received text messages or phone calls about the shooting after it happened. Those people could have information that was important to police and should contact them, he said.

Crime scene investigators arrived at the scene yesterday, after which Mr Minto's body was removed. A post-mortem was to be carried out this morning at Nelson Hospital.

Rick Miller, who lives in Mill St opposite Branford Park, said nearby residents were "shellshocked" by what had happened, and he felt it was lucky that no-one else in the area at the time was injured by the shooter.

He said in an email to The Nelson Mail there were joggers, swimmers and residents nearby, plus members of the group involved, who had been left "deeply affected".

- With NZPA