Tied-up teen in court on burglary charges

The teen who was tied up and detained by a group of Tangimoana vigilantes was arrested for burglary a day before he was due to give evidence against them.

The Manawatu Standard could not previously reveal the burglary charge as media coverage of the incident may have prejudiced the trial.

But today we can report how Johnathan Alfred Blair, 19, is before the courts on fresh charges after police claim he was caught in a derelict Palmerston North building on August 23 with the intention to steal copper wire.

The next day Blair appeared in the defendants' dock in a Palmerston North courtroom, where he was granted bail on the burglary charge.

He then left the dock and went into the neighbouring courtroom to take the witness stand and give evidence against Tracy Marie Thomsen, 39, Marcus John Thomsen, 35, and Kieran John Grice, 36.

The trio were accused of dragging Blair out of a friend's house, binding his wrists and ankles with cable ties and beating him while waiting for police in 2007. The adults suspected he was the culprit of petty crime in Tangimoana.

The trial this week came to a halt after seven days of Crown evidence when the accused pleaded guilty to a charge of assault, which involved an admission that they dragged Blair out of the house, had him trussed up and carried to the driveway.

Tracy Thomsen and Grice also pleaded guilty to a charge each of threatening to kill on Wednesday.

All three were initially charged with kidnapping and assault with intent to injure, while Marcus Thomsen also faced an additional charge of assault, which was dropped.

They will all be sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court next month.

The jury of eight men and four women sitting on the trial were not privy to Blair's fresh burglary charge as it was deemed prejudicial to the trial.

However, the jury were made aware of Blair's criminal history and heard on the third day into the trail that Blair was not a stranger to violence.

The court heard how he started offending as a youth, appearing in the Youth Court in 2006 and 2007 for assault with a blunt instrument and assault on a female.

His criminal career continued into the adult jurisdiction when he was convicted of assault in the Palmerston North District Court in April last year.

The jury was also told that Blair's dishonesty convictions included theft, shoplifting and receiving stolen property.

Blair is due to reappear on Monday in the Family Violence Court on a previous charge of failing to attend a court-imposed anger management programme and also the burglary charge resulting from the August 23 incident.

- © Fairfax NZ News