Four on remand for Minto shooting

LATEST: Four of the five men men arrested following Saturday's fatal shooting, including murder accused Blair Robert McNaughton, have been remanded in custody to reappear in court next Friday.

Troy Minto, 22, was killed following a single shot gun blast to the chest during a fight between two groups of men at Branford Park on Saturday evening.

Police said the fight was pre-arranged by text message and stemmed from a dispute over a woman.

McNaughton, 24 of Richmond, was also jointly charged with unlawful assembly and possessing a pump-action Mossberg shotgun along with the four others - Issac Crawford Warren, 20, a labourer of Nelson, Jared Matthew Perry, 22, a bartender of Nelson, Samual Ingram Gillbanks, 22, a labourer of Nelson, and Blake Paul Cunnard, 23, of Timaru.

The five men were scheduled to appear in the Nelson District Court this morning, but  only Gillbanks and Perry, 22 appeared in court. Gillbanks was remanded in custody by consent until next Friday.

Perry's lawyer Dean Russ made an application for bail for Perry, which was refused. All details of the bail application were suppressed and Perry was remanded in custody until January 18 for a pre-trial committal hearing.

The others were remanded by consent and their appearance was excused.