A Tongan man accused of murder is standing trial in the High Court at Wellington over a fatal shooting following an alleged drug deal in a Wairarapa supermarket car park.
Pelikani Taukei’aho and co-defendant Tauave Sue have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Doreion Hard, who was fatally shot in Featherston on 22 March 2025.
The Crown alleges the confrontation began after Hard and three other men arranged to meet the defendants to buy several ounces of cocaine, but instead planned to rob them.
Prosecutor Tim Bain has described the incident as a “drug deal gone sideways”.
The court heard the men arrived armed and that Hard and another man approached a grey Holden Cruze occupied by Taukei’aho and Sue.
A witness told the court the men appeared to rob the Holden’s occupants, with at least one allegedly brandishing a firearm while packages were removed from the vehicle.
The owner of a red ute used by Hard’s group testified that she heard a gunshot and saw the vehicle’s rear window shatter as they began leaving the car park.
She said Hard then grabbed her arm and told her he had been shot.
The woman told the jury she tried to stop Hard’s bleeding and keep him conscious while others in the ute were concerned with disposing of firearms and other items.
The Crown alleges Taukei’aho emerged from the Holden and fired at the departing ute, with one of the shots fatally striking Hard in the back.
Another witness, who told the court he had served in the military for 22 years, said he heard three or four shots during the rapidly unfolding incident.
Defence lawyers have questioned witnesses closely about the sequence and timing of events during the confrontation.
Hard was later found critically injured in Carterton and died despite emergency services attending.
Taukei’aho and Sue deny murder, and the allegations against them remain to be determined by the jury.
The trial has been allocated five weeks and is continuing.
