Five gang members or associates of the Tribesmen Aotearoa chapter are undergoing trial for murder in the Hamilton High Court, having been alleged to have killed fellow chapter member Mark “Shark” Hohua in 2022. He had been subjected to a “hot box”, a form of physical punishment used by the gang to reprimand their members when they had done something wrong- in this case the personal use of chapter funds. Matt, while defending one of the accused Te Patukino Biddle, stated that the meeting the hot box was done at wasn’t held with the focus of carrying out the punishment, but was instead to address the gang’s wider problems with their rivals, the Killer Bees. Matt would go on to state that while Te Patukino had finished with his role in the punishment, others would go on to continue it excessively, eventually resulting in Mark fleeing and falling down some dangerous stairs that resulted in the harm. Read the full article here.
Not Guilty at Judge Alone Trial- Receiving property over $1000
After two years of going through the court system, a client was found not guilty at judge alone trial under the assistance of Spencer, who successfully convinced the judge that there was reasonable doubt in the client being reckless in receiving the stolen property.