A community youth leader who threatened to “get his guns and his boys” and shoot his cousin has avoided conviction. Tanga Maki Junior Tiatoa, 38, appeared in the Dunedin District Court on Friday after pleading guilty to two counts of speaking threateningly. Tiatoa is the co-founder of Tamariki Together, a charity which made headlines last year when it announced plans to open a central youth centre — complete with pool tables, arcade machines and a milkshake bar — in the wake of the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Enere McLaren-Taana at the city’s bus hub. However, organisers recently announced the St Andrews St initiative had been mothballed to focus on the group’s primary programme based in North East Valley. Community magistrate Elder Robati said while Tiatoa was currently employed working with neurodivergent children, and was unlikely to lose that job, a conviction may have adverse repercussions for future work prospects. He referenced the extensive community efforts the defendant had undertaken — 340 hours of voluntary work since the charges were laid — and said the trust in the “role model” may be eroded should the crimes be marked on his permanent record. He granted the discharge without conviction, an outcome not opposed by police. The court heard family tensions escalated in July last year following the death of Tiatoa’s father and the subsequent management of the estate. The defendant posted a video to Facebook, taking aim at his cousin, who was living with his mother in Dunedin at the time. “The defendant stated in the video that he wanted to picture another person’s face on the victim while he beat him and broke his bones,” a police summary said. Shortly afterwards, Tiatoa sent the man a message pointing him to the post and encouraging him to view it. Two days later, the defendant doubled down on his threat. Court documents detailed how he called the victim, said he was going to a storage locker to get “his guns and his boys” and travel to the man’s home to shoot him. The victim immediately called his mother and instructed her to inform police. Tiatoa initially denied making the threats but later pleaded guilty to the offences once charges had been reduced. Counsel Caitlin Fidler-Smith said her client accepted “he didn’t cope well with the situation” but had since expressed profound remorse for his actions and was undertaking extensive counselling. While Tiatoa had one conviction for shoplifting from more than a decade ago, she called him “a man of exemplary character”. Mr Robati accepted a conviction could not only cause whakamā to the defendant, and a loss of mana, but could impact the reputation of Tamariki Together and its ability to obtain grants. The charity had begun assisting 11 children when it was established in 2018 but had since gone on to support more than 3000 at-risk youth, the court heard. rob.kidd@odt.co.nz
