Brothers admit kidnapping Dunedin man

Two brothers have admitted kidnapping a Dunedin man and abandoning him on a rural roadside.

Nick Graham Miles (24) and his brother Gary Michael Wilson (47) appeared before the Dunedin District Court this afternoon where they each admitted charges of kidnapping and unlawfully being in a building.

The court heard the pair from Mosgiel were trying to recover property that belonged to Wilson’s daughter.

Miles also pleaded guilty to threatening to do grievous bodily harm.

He went to the victim’s room at a boarding house on June 15 this year and demanded he return items belonging to his niece.

When the man said he did not have them, Miles threatened to “come back and beat [him] to a pulp”.

He returned the next day with Wilson and the pair went through the victim’s Canongate room without his permission.

They were told by another resident that the man was at McDonald's in George St. Upon finding him there, the defendants again demanded the return of the property.

As the stalemate continued, they told the victim he should accompany them to the police station where they would resolve the matter.

“It sounds like he did not have too much choice in the matter,” Judge John Macdonald said today.

Instead though, Miles and Wilson drove the man nearly 8km to Whare Flat Rd.

The requests for the unnamed items continued and when the victim continued to deny any knowledge of their whereabouts, they all agreed he would give them some cash.

However once that was decided, the defendants dropped him at the roadside and drove off.

The man walked 2km to Three Mill Hill Rd where he called police.

Judge Macdonald said Miles and Wilson each made some admissions about their actions when interviewed by police but “downplayed” the facts.

On entering guilty pleas, each defendant was given his first-strike warning under the three-strikes legislation.

They will be sentenced in November.
 

 

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