'Code Red' in Yard 116: Origins of violent riot at Waikeria Prison revealed

Monday, 20 February 2023

Bashing through walls, setting fires, and smashing through skylights.

A High Court jury has been shown dramatic footage of a riot that “put hundreds of lives at risk” at Waikeria Prison two years ago.

Eleven men who allegedly had central roles in that six-day riot at the prison – about 40 minutes south of Hamilton – are now on trial in Hamilton.

Hone Ronaki, Leon Huritu, Bronson Keil, Ian Larkins, Siamau Lote-Telea, Beau-James Paul, Christopher Ranapia, Te Renati Tarau, Peter Te Hau, Taimana Soames and another man who has name suppression face 12 representative charges, including four charges of arson, and two of causing riotous damage, threatening to kill, rioting, and setting traps.

There are also two charges of aggravated burglary, which related to allegations of breaking into cells to release prisoners and into secure areas while using a battering ram as a weapon.

They are also charged with assault with a weapon, which related to items being thrown from the rooftops at Corrections officers and firefighters.

On Monday, prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton outlined the Crown case against the defendants, who were allegedly part of a group of 17 who took part in the riot.

Over the 12-week duration of the trial, the jurors would view “unassailable evidence” in the form of CCTV footage and the first-hand account of Corrections officers who were working there at the time, Hamilton said.

The defendants had “engaged in repeated acts of violence, and they did so in a way that was demonstrably dangerous”.

“In doing so, they put hundreds of lives at risk.”

The riot had started in an innocuous fashion, with a disagreement between a couple of prisoners and a corrections officer in an exercise area known as Yard 116 on the morning of December 29.

The prisoners were part of a group of 21 who, after having breakfast, were allowed as part of their daily routine to stay in the yard until about 2pm.

The issue was – at least to the officer’s belief – soon resolved, and the group were allowed to continue to use the yard on what was a hot, sunny day, Hamilton said.

However, by early afternoon the mood had turned hostile towards the prison staff. A “Code Blue” alert was issued, which meant more Corrections officers were required in the yard. This was followed soon after by a “Code Red”, which indicated an extreme emergency. The entire prison was placed in lockdown.

Of the group of 21, there were nine who were responsible for starting the drama, Hamilton said. They included Keil, Soames, Lote-Telea and the man whose name is suppressed.

The jury was shown CCTV footage of some of the group ranging around the yard, before one of the men hurled a scoop of wet toilet paper at the camera, completely obscuring the view.

Wooden seats were broken and furnished into weapons, and doors were ripped off in the yard, as the aggressive members of the group kept the officers at bay.

A fire was lit on one of the seats. Officers attempted to extinguish it from outside the yard, but were obstructed by the prisoners who got in the way of the hose stream.

Firefighters arrived and ultimately put the fire out – however nine of the group managed an escape from the yard by squeezing through a gap they created between a fence and a roof during the fracas.

They set about damaging the infrastructure, smashing windows and setting a guard room on fire – before their focus shifted to releasing members associated with the Mongols gang.

Using a makeshift battering ram, they smashed through the barred windows of cells to allow their compatriots – including Huritu, Ronaki, Larkins, Paul, Ranapia, Tarau and Te Hau to join them.

Now a group of 17, more fires were lit and skylights were smashed, raining glass shards onto officers and prisoners below.

With smoke and fire starting to spread through one of the cell blocks, the officers were forced to hurriedly enter the cells to evacuate about 200 prisoners.

“It was an incredible outcome that no life was lost.”

Officers had objects thrown at them, along with implied threats – where they lived and where they bought their clothing.

The prisoners also gained access to prison uniforms, radios, binoculars, body armour, shields, and a grinder that could cut through bars.

On the second day one member of the group decided he had enough and surrendered – but not before he was beaten and kicked in the face by Ronaki and others, and used as a bargaining chip, Hamilton said.

Threatened with death by his former comrades, that prisoner eventually managed to jump to safety.

“These prisoners were working together in a joint enterprise,” Hamilton said.

The group gathered on the roof of an area known as the Master Control Centre, behind the prison chapel, and waited until officers entered the building below before deliberately setting it alight.

The jury were then shown drone footage of the building bursting into flames as the officers could be seen fleeing below and the prisoners hugged and congratulated each other up on the roof.

That fire spread and resulted in the near-complete destruction of the facility. The group of 16 were forced by their own success to retreat to the rooftop of a much smaller building.

Eventually, on January 3, they opted to surrender – after performing one last defiant haka on the rooftop.

The trial, before Justice Christine Gordon and a jury of eight men and four women, continues.