The son of a South Auckland woman who was shot dead in her lounge says he didn’t initially reveal the identities of her alleged killers due to the “gangster code”.
Falala Iongi, Viliami Mounga He Ofa Iongi, and Manu Hori Iongi are accused of murdering Meliame Fisi’ihoi on January 15, 2020.
Falala and Viliami also face charges of wounding with intent to injure and reckless discharge of a firearm relating to a prior incident.
That involved the deceased’s son, Stephen Fisi’ihioi, and another man on December 4, 2019.
Stephen took to the stand on Wednesday to give evidence.
The court has heard there had previously been a botched firearms deal between Stephen and two of the defendants, Falala and Viliami.
They were all involved in the Crips gang, and in 2019 Stephen said that he had worked as a methamphetamine dealer, dealing from a cabin he lived in the front of Fisi’ihoi’s Favona home.
He had installed CCTV cameras to monitor those who approached the cabin as a security measure.
The firearm-for-meth debacle led to an altercation at the property.
“I grabbed my bat and I started swinging my bat at [Falala] … and then they ended up jumping in their car and driving off,” Stephen said.
READ MORE: Firearms deal 'gone wrong' led to grandmother’s murder, court told
The court heard how Falala and Viliami returned on December 4, 2019 and another fight broke out, leading to the shooting of an associate of Stephen.
When questioned by police, Stephen said he refused to give details identifying Falala and Viliami due to the “g code” or “gangster code”.
He said that prevented gang members from telling on fellow gang members to police.
The court was told Falala, Viliami and Manu arrived in the early hours of January 15, 2020, intending to shoot Stephen.
Instead, the crown claimed, they shot his mother through the lounge window with a single gunshot, killing her, before fleeing.
Stephen testified that he was staying at another address. It was suggested by defence lawyers he had helped facilitate a drug deal elsewhere.
He said he was in a state of “shock” when a relative came to tell him of the news.
“I turned on my phone and I had 100 missed calls and texts from my family,” he said.
Stephen said he was “numb”.
READ MORE: Trio accused of murdering 'hardworking, churchgoing mum' on trial
He eventually told police in February 2022 that Falala and Viliami were involved in the December 4, 2019 shooting – an allegation they denied.
Defence counsel extensively questioned Stephen on Wednesday and accused him of lying.
He repeatedly denied “ripping off” people in the criminal underworld when that allegation was put to him by Falala’s defence lawyer, Graeme Newell, and Viliami’s lawyer John Munro.
In January 2020, Stephen also pointed to others as being potentially responsible for his mother’s shooting.
“I want to put to you there was no ongoing grudge between you and Falala?” Newell asked Stephen.
“No, that’s not correct,” he replied.
When asked by Munro about false statements to the police by Stephen, he said he “was scared at the time for my family’s safety”.
Munro also asked why he did not take the opportunity to reveal Falala and Viliami's identity on the multiple occasions a police detective visited him.
It was because of the “g code” as well as his family, he reiterated.
The trial continues.
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