Mistrial declared at robbery hearing
A mistrial has been declared on the second day of a robbery trial before a Christchurch District Court jury.
Judge Stephen O’Driscoll aborted the trial process and ordered a new trial for Benjamin William Hita, 58, and Martin Henry Reuben, 52, who had denied charges of aggravated robbery.
The Crown case was that a resident at an Avonside housing complex had been held and punched while the webbing between two of his fingers were cut with scissors, and then blood used as lubricant to take two silver swastika rings from his fingers.
Judge O’Driscoll set out his decision for declaring the mistrial in a closed court session, and then suppressed the reasons.
He brought the jury back into court to tell them of the decision after almost a day of legal discussions and hearings in closed court.
Hita and Reuben were remanded to a pre-trial conference on September 19 to set a new trial date.
Category: News
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