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A prisoner who snuck a razor into a Waikeria Prison exercise yard may have set in chain a series of events that led to a riot and most of the prison’s high security facility being burnt to the ground.
Eleven men who allegedly had central roles in that six-day riot at the prison – about 40 minutes south of Hamilton – are now on trial at the High Court in Hamilton.
Hone Ronaki, Leon Huritu, Bronson Keil, Ian Larkins, Siamau Lote-Telea, Beau-James Paul, Christopher Ranapia, Te Renati Tarau, Peter Te Hau, Taimana Soames and another man who has name suppression.
They face 12 representative charges, including arson, causing riotous damage, threatening to kill, rioting, setting traps, aggravated burglary and assault with a weapon.
On Wednesday, the court heard evidence from a senior Corrections officer who was on duty on December 29, 2020, the morning the trouble broke out in Yard 116, an exercise area used by the prisoners.
The officer – whose name is suppressed from publication – was alerted by a sentry guard about 9.40am that she had spotted what appeared to be a razor being used by one of a group of 21 prisoners in an outdoor shower area in the yard.
That prisoner is not among the group now on trial.
Although the inmates are allowed limited use of razors for their ablutions, this does not extend to the exercise yards. The officers were concerned it could be used as a weapon.
The officer confronted the prisoner, who denied there was a razor. She attempted to cajole him into giving it to her, but without success.
“I said that’s fine. If you want to play, I will play.”
The officer told the prisoners she would have no choice but to “run the yard in” – return all the prisoners to their cells early – if the razor was not returned.
This irked some of the other inmates, including Keil, the defendant whose name is suppressed, and another man, Matangirau Cuff.
The officer said she gave the prisoner 10 minutes to think about the situation, and left. When she returned, he handed over a razor and a comb to her. He admitted there had been a second razor, but he had flushed it down a toilet.
It appeared the situation had been resolved. However, by early afternoon, things had changed.
The officer said she was informed over the prison staff radio system that there was a fire in the yard.
Other staff members had gathered at the “grill” door by the time she arrived. The scene inside the yard was tumultuous.
“There was a lot of noise. There was a lot of ruckus. I could smell smoke.
“We were trying to engage with them. They wouldn’t talk to us. They just told us to get lost … to f… off.”
The inmates had divided into two groups. Some were roaming around, laughing and shouting with their faces covered. Another group were not taking part, and were sitting off to the side.
There was a small fire in the ceiling, near a security camera. A prison officer had unravelled a hose and was attempting to extinguish the fires the prisoners had been setting. The prisoners were using floor mats from the showers and other objects to block the stream from the hose and obscure the view of the officers.
Security cameras inside the yard also had wet toilet paper thrown at them. Meanwhile, some of the inmates broke through a ceiling and gained access to a central bridge area.
After a time, firefighters arrived and extinguished the blaze with a high-pressure hose, which also led to many in the yard getting wet.
A “code red” alert was issued, placing the entire prison in lockdown. Inside the yard, toilets and windows were being smashed. Debris was being thrown towards the officers, as some of the inmates managed to get to a roof.
Earlier in the trial, lawyer Quintin Duff, who is acting for Larkins, gave a short opening address to the jury in which he took issue with Crown prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton’s assertion the object of the rioters’ intentions was the “wholesale destruction of the prison”.
Rather, it was a means of protest against the “squalid, substandard living conditions” in the facility.
The exercise yards at Waikeria had been described by the Minister of Corrections as being “not fit for an animal”, he said.
Duff also warned the jurors against being “primed” into believing the Crown’s account of the riot being a conflict between “goodies and baddies”, and to put aside any such prejudices towards people who happened to be prisoners.
“Don’t be primed. Keep an open mind.”
The trial, before Justice Christine Gordon and a jury of eight men and four women, continues.
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