One of the men convicted for his part in a kidnapping near Arrowtown in 2011 could be released from prison as early as August.
Michael Coulter (26) was denied parole last month after serving one-third of his three-year jail sentence for aggravated wounding and kidnapping.
However, the parole board has asked Coulter back for his second hearing in August to review his progress and determine whether he could be ''safely released'', a New Zealand Parole Board document confirmed.
Friends Brodie O'Rourke (25) and Coulter, a panelbeater, were sentenced for their part in the violent kidnapping of Jason Maynard, which took place on the Crown Range Rd and ended in Arrowtown in November 2011.
O'Rourke and three others had earlier paid Mr Maynard $60 each for ecstasy pills in a Queenstown nightclub and felt cheated when they discovered what they believed was a flour and brown sugar substance.
The group had gathered at O'Rourke's residence in Frankton to discuss the attack and drove to the Crown Range Rd intersection where they approached Maynard, who was with his girlfriend.
They proceeded to kick, punch and head-butt Maynard before kidnapping him in their vehicle. Coulter had five previous convictions for common assault, fighting, convictions involving firearms, disorderly behaviour and drink-driving.
In prison he is serving a drug treatment unit programme and has written to potential employers for when he is released, his parole report said. Coulter's accomplice O'Rourke is due for his first parole hearing at the beginning of June.
