Both men deny murder and their lawyers have urged the jury to keep an open mind until they hear the defence case.
In his opening remarks to the jury, Crown prosecutor Daniel Becker told the court this case was about a drug deal that went sideways.
Becker told the jury in the High Court at Wellington that Sue and Hard began communicating over Signal, a messaging app, in January last year about the sale of cocaine.
Becker said both were excited by the deal, which they sought to make $4000 each from, and the potential to open lucrative new supply networks.
Becker told the jury the exchange was meant to take place in Upper Hutt, before it was changed to the Fresh Choice supermarket in Featherston.
Minutes before the shooting, Hard arrived with his associates in a red SsangYong ute and a red Mercedes-Benz.
He got out of the ute and went to the passenger door, with the vehicle blocking the Holden’s exit; as Hard and an associate approached the Holden, another associate scattered nails behind its wheels.
The Crown alleges Hard and an associate threatened Sue and Taukei’aho with a firearm before taking the drugs from the back seat.
The Crown said Hard fired from the back seat and Taukei’aho got out of the car and allegedly fired four shots at the red ute.
The Crown says the fatal shot entered the rear of the ute and struck Hard in the back, killing him.
In video footage played to the jury of the shooting, four shots are clearly heard before a red SsangYong ute speeds off with Hard and his associates.
It was Saturday afternoon on March 22 and the carpark was busy with shoppers.
The jury heard the panicked 111 call from Hard’s associate, who was sitting with him in the ute as it fled the scene.
The associate tells the call taker his friend has been shot and he’s unconscious.
“He’s in a bad way.”
They arrange to meet an ambulance in the New World carpark in Carterton.
During the call, the associate grows frustrated with the call taker and demands to know where the ambulance is.
“Hurry up, man, where are you?” Hard’s friend asks the operator as they wait in the carpark.
Meanwhile, Sue and Taukei’aho were stopped by police as they drove towards Upper Hutt.
In his opening remarks to the jury, Justice Andru Isac said Taukei’aho had been charged as the principal offender and Sue as a party to the murder.
Justice Isac told the jury that while both were charged with murder, it didn’t mean they were both guilty or not guilty of murder and the jury may reach different verdicts for each.
The trial is set down for five weeks.
Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.
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