escalating violence in our community Become a member of the Sensible Sentencing Trust

Mouseover links for full page descriptions

Offender Database Ronald Hira

Ronald Dean Hira

Alias

.

Offences

Involved in a Home invasion, aggravated robbery and attack of Te Puke couple Maggie and Peter Bentley in October 2004.
Tamati and Epiha appear to have been the primary offenders
Involved in two drive-by shootings and grevious bodily harm in Palmerston North in October 2006

Victims

.

Offender Affiliations

Hopihana Epiha
Mano Tamati
Desmond Eru
Bwana McKinnon
Kelly Kamura

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1976

Current Location

Prison

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to two years four months in May 2005
Sentenced to nine years three months with a four year eight month non-parole period in July 2008
Unsuccessfully appealed sentence and conviction in April 2009

Background
NZ Herald story here
This TV One News story details the sentencing and also gave the victims further opportunity to speak on the accompanying video clip
Also this from the Waikato Times
"Cousins Bwana Nehu McKinnon, 33, and Ronald Dean Hira, 31, convicted of the 2006 drive-by shootings at two Palmerston North homes, have been jailed for 11 years and nine years three months respectively. The bullets passed through internal walls, one hitting Latoya Boyd in the leg. She has since gone through three surgeries, skin grafts and rehabilitation."

From the Manawatu Standard July 2008
The gunmen convicted of the 2006 drive-by shootings at two Palmerston North homes spent much of their sentencing scanning the court's public gallery for their rivals yesterday. But the roving eyes of cousins Bwana Nehu McKinnon, 33, and Ronald Dean Hira, 31, were downcast when Judge Nevin Dawson handed them lengthy jail terms. McKinnon was sentenced to 11-years' imprisonment and Hira nine years and three months, with both to serve at least half their time. The pair emptied a seven-shot magazine from close range into a Manson Street house and another seven shots at a Botanical Road home on October 2, 2006.

Bullets from the powerful semi- automatic rifle passed through internal walls - with one hitting Victor Lafaiki's 21-year-old partner Latoya Boyd in the leg while she was sleeping at their Manson Street home. She has since gone through three surgeries, skin grafts and rehabilitation. Residents of Albert Tuimana's Botanical Road home were not injured, but there were two young children sleeping in the house at the time. One of the offenders had returned home after the shooting and taken his children down from bunks and away from the windows in case of retaliation, the court heard. Police later found the two cousins in possession of the rifles at a Pahiatua property, where they were arrested.

A jury found the pair guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and reckless use of a firearm in May. Hira's lawyer Peter Coles asked Judge Dawson to consider a distinction between the two offenders - McKinnon was the central offender who had an "issue" with the victims. But Judge Dawson disagreed and said the two had been "in it together" and would be punished together. They had used an ex-military weapon designed to kill people in what was clearly a premeditated attack, he said. "You've chosen to live and behave outside of the law," Judge Dawson told the pair. "This barbaric behaviour cannot be condoned in this community.

---

Corrections and Additional Information
We endeavour to make this database as accurate as possible, but we are at the mercy of whatever information we can find in various online and offline archives. We rely on the public - that is, people like you - to fill in the gaps that we cannot. If you wish to submit additional information or a correction to this file CLICK HERE . Privacy: Trust policy is that all sources are treated as strictly confidential unless we are explicitly told otherwise. If you wish to see a file removed from this database certain conditions must be met by the offender set out HERE Note that this does NOT apply for those that are the primary offender in a murder, rape, or any sexual offending involving minors. We do not enter into correspondence regarding the guilt/innocence of offenders. Such correspondence is not responded to, especially if the offender concerned has a number of prior convictions

Back to Top