A friend of the man who killed police officer Matthew Hunt has described taking him to an area of bush in West Auckland to hide a gun.
Shane Conza has given evidence in the trial of Eli Epiha, who admits murdering Hunt on the morning of 19 June 2020, but denies the attempted murder of officer David Goldfinch.
Today in the High Court at Auckland, Conza said Epiha arrived at his house in Taupaki, northwest Auckland, about noon on 19 June in a Mazda driven by a woman he did not know.
Epiha wanted a ride in Conza's car, but did not specify where to or why, he said.
"He was pretty calm. A little more urgent than usual," Conza recalled.
Conza said he loaded Epiha's belongings into his car, drove Epiha to Riverhead, then helped hide the gun and sprinkle pine needles on - it without asking why.
"I just recall him saying that he'd f**ked up … but that was under his breath. Maybe foolishly, I didn't ask. Sometimes in situations you get a feeling, you just know what's going on and I was scared to ask."
Epiha remained in the car and Conza believed Epiha flung a "rugby boot" bag out of the window.
When the police stopped them up the road, Epiha told him to act cool, Conza said.
"He said to be cool. I needed to be cool in the situation.
"I recall he didn't give [the police] his real name."
The pair were arrested and Conza took the police to the location of the gun.
In court this morning, Conza identified a semi-automatic Norinco rifle in a glass case - similar to an AK-47 - as the one he had helped to bury.
Conza denied knowing the firearm was used in a murder, and denied that it was "stashed" - just "removed" from his vehicle.
Another witness who speak this morning, Detective Ross Collett, helped prepare a timeline of police radio communications and emergency calls on the morning of the shooting, breaking it down second by second.
RNZ
