They stopped and saw tyre tracks leading into and out of the verge where Baldwin lay dying from severe head injuries.
Emergency services were called and Baldwin was pronounced dead at the roadside at 10.08am.
What followed was a police investigation that worked its way backwards.
On Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Richard Annandale opened the case to the jury, outlining the issues between the two men in the days before the death.
Baldwin, 51, and Brady, 53, were both from Waimamaku, a small township 15km south of Ōpononi in the Hokianga.
“They knew of each other. The extent of that knowledge is not so clear. What is clear, in the lead-up to Mr Baldwin’s death, there were issues between them,” Annandale said.
The issues were such that the Crown says Brady intended to hit Baldwin with his vehicle and had murderous intent on August 1.
The Crown said Baldwin believed Brady was a cannabis grower and was demanding a “cut” of that activity.
On or around July 29, Baldwin wrote a message on Brady’s letterbox in Waimamaku.
“Baldhead. Shanonuts. Dope grower, pay your dues or the mighty notorious will take it all,” the message said in a photo Brady took.
“Brady not only took exception to the message, but wanted retribution,” Annandale said.
“I say it was all-consuming for Mr Brady this message that was left.”
For the next three days “a flurry of text messages” was sent between several locals as Brady allegedly searched for Baldwin.
“F*** I’m slutted, c***s over when I find him,” Brady sent to one associate.
“It’s blackmail or warning,” he texted another.
From July 29 to 31, Brady was communicating with an associate known only as JB as they allegedly searched the Hokianga for Baldwin.
“Seen Opo,” JB sent to Brady.
“Lock u self in I get text to you where abouts. I go see wharf til he shows, stay home, patience, wait,” JB also sent.
JB also messaged that Baldwin was allegedly seen walking in Waimamaku.
Baldwin, meanwhile, continued making demands and sent a message to Brady through an associate as they did not have each other’s phone numbers.
“You better tell Shanonuts the louder he cries the better,” Baldwin said in his text.
“Cos I’ll be sending the dogs in tomorrow… Our army done Juggo and our army done Andy Dunn SFH I will be passing Shanonuts address to take everything, even if they have to, no … joke. PS delete this text or join us conspirers in jail.”
The last text Brady sent was to JB at 7.53am on August 1.
The two men were residents of the small town of Waimamaku in the Far North. Photo / Google.
“Just walked past down to shop.”
The Crown allege Baldwin was hit between 7.57am and 8.07am.
“After hitting Mr Baldwin, Mr Brady did not remain stopped. He carried on towards Waimamaku. Nor did he phone emergency services,” Annandale said.
“Brady left Baldwin lying in that road verge for dead because that is what he wanted in the moment. He struck Baldwin with the ute.”
The Crown will call more than 30 witnesses, including people who stopped at the scene to help and will say Baldwin made final statements before dying.
“He said he had been hit and repeated over and over again, Shannon did it,” Annandale said.
Brady’s lawyer Jasper Rhodes gave a brief opening response to the jury, saying the collision was an accident.
“Brady’s car was steered hard to the left, and the brakes were slammed on, as described by Annandale in his opening – those were actions to try to avoid Baldwin, rather than to intentionally hit him,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes said it was known in the community Baldwin would frequently walk down the middle of the road and actively jump in front of cars.
“This was regular behaviour of his, witnessed by a large number of people,” Rhodes said.
“So considering this evidence of what Mr Baldwin often did in relation to vehicles on the road, as you might imagine, might be very important to your decision as to what he might have done in relation to Mr Brady’s car when it came around the corner, and therefore whether this was an intentional act by Mr Brady, or an accident significantly, if not completely, caused by Mr Baldwin’s own actions.”
Rhodes told the jury the cannabis details were irrelevant as the case was deciding the murder charge.
“If you decide that is reasonably possible, that this was an accident, then the Crown case is not proved at the very first question – if this was an accident, it was not an unlawful act, and therefore can’t be either a murder or a manslaughter.”
The trial is set for four weeks before Justice Michele Wilkinson-Smith.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.