Man admits 'ninja' crime spree

BELINDA FEEK

Last updated 15:06 24/09/2012

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A Waikato man has admitted dressing up as a ninja and going on a crime spree in Taupiri that included stealing a tractor and threatening people at gunpoint.

In the Hamilton District Court this afternoon, Michael Lawrence Stark, 20, admitted 15 charges including unlawfully taking a tractor, wilful damage, demanding with menace, burglary, theft and unlawful possession of a firearm after the incident last month.

Stark donned a ninja mask and was clad all in black when he went to the Taupiri Hotel on August 25 armed with a .22 calibre rifle with a silencer.

He then approached a man in the carpark, where he pointed the rifle at him and demanded his money.

Stark then turned the gun on a group sitting at a nearby picnic table and demanded their cash before firing three shots in the air saying: "I'm f****** serious."

The night before he sprayed graffiti on several properties in Taupiri before stealing a tractor and driving it down the road, knocking two road signs over along the way.

Stark was remanded on bail until sentencing in November.

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