Tauranga man in court for attempted murders
A Tauranga man jointly charged with two attempted murders after two separate shooting incidents remains behind bars.
Steven Dennis Poole, 44, faced two charges of attempted murder, one charge each of aggravated burglary, wounding with intent to injure and attempting to pervert the course of justice in Tauranga District Court this morning.
Police opposed bail and Poole was remanded in custody by Community Magistrate Robyn Paterson until Monday for a bail hearing in front of district court judge.
The attempted murder offences are alleged to have occurred in Hamilton and Tauranga earlier this year and involve a woman and man whose identities have been suppressed by a court-order due to police safety concerns.
In July, shots were fired into a Tauranga house and a man inside the house suffered injuries to his head.
Hamilton man John Paul Murphy, 35, also jointly charged with two counts of attempted murder, one joint charge of aggravated burglary, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and a further burglary charge, was remanded in custody at Tauranga District Court yesterday.
The matter will be called in court again on October 18, but Murphy's attendance on that day has been excused.
The third man in the trio also facing the attempted murder and aggravated burglary and wounding charges is not due to appear in court until October 3.
Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner said: "Enquiries over the last couple of months revealed that there had been a home invasion at the same address on May 17 that had not been reported.
"We also discovered that there had been an unreported shooting in Hamilton on May 31 that was relevant to our investigation."
