New Zealand

Not guilty plea for attempted murder of gang leader

10:23 am on 29 May 2019

A man accused of attempting to murder a gang leader in East Auckland has pleaded not guilty.

Akustino Tae at a previous court appearance. Photo: RNZ

Akustino Tae, 39, appeared before Justice Moore at the High Court in Auckland this morning.

He was charged with attempted murder after the president of the Killer Beez gang, Josh Masters, was shot at the Harley Davidson store in Mt Wellington on 26 April.

Two dozen police officers, two of them armed with guns, were at the High Court this morning but the public gallery was largely empty.

Tae made a brief appearance via audio-visual link and entered a not guilty plea to the attempted murder charge through his lawyer, Lorraine Smith.

Justice Moore remanded him in custody until his trial, set down for three weeks in June 2020.