A Wairarapa mother of four has been sentenced to six years and five months in jail after shooting another woman at a gang house in Wellington last year.
Meretiana Jacqueline Kopua, 33, shot Terryann Bush-Enoka, 41, at a Vogeltown property on July 25, 2021, and was arrested in Carterton days later.
Bush-Enoka was left with critical wounds and in a medically induced coma at Wellington Hospital.
Bullet fragments remain lodged in her hip bone, and it could not be determined if she suffered one or two gunshot wounds because of the nature of her injuries.
At Wellington High Court yesterday, Justice Helen Cull sentenced Meretiana Jacqueline Kopua, 33, to six years and five months in prison for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
She was also sentenced to six months for unlawfully carrying a firearm, but it was considered concurrently served.
Kopua was given discounts to her sentence for her personal situation including her drug addiction, growing up with gang affiliation, and having four children.
She also admitted to consuming between one-quarter and one gram of methamphetamine before the incident, and was already on bail for previous charges at the time of offending.
Cull said Kopua’s children had been negatively affected by her offending.
“[Your] previous incarceration led to resentment from your children. They felt like you
chose jail over them.”
Crown prosecutor Wilber Tupua said that, after previously pleading not guilty, Kopua continued to deny the offending.
The night before the shooting, a Mongrel Mob member celebrated his 21st birthday at the Vogeltown property where Bush-Enoka said she had been drinking and had consumed methamphetamine.
The next day, Kopua, her aunt, and a man arrived at the property to recoup an $1100 debt.
Bush-Enoka and Kopua maintained they had not met before July 25, however, they “knew of” each other.
Bush-Enoka said she had apologised to Kopua that day for an incident at Kopua’s house some weeks before where a window was smashed and someone hit with a brick.
She said the apology was for it happening while a baby was present.
“You know, we don’t do that shit around kids.”
Soon after their conversation, Kopua sent a text message to another party saying “having demos with dogs”, meaning having drama with the Mongrel Mob.
A minute later, Kopua sent a second message “f*** u too I need u and that banger”.
Subsequently, a second car arrived at the property with a gun.
In a judge-alone trial in July, Cull said the timing of Kopua’s text messages requesting a “banger”, followed by a 111 call 21 minutes later, and Kopua’s urgent request to relocate to a bail address in Masterton was compelling evidence of the offending.
She said the timing of Kopua’s texts followed by the arrival of a gun at the Vogeltown property was “more than a mere coincidence”.
She also dismissed Kopua’s assertion that “banger” referred to a Polynesian person.
“The more likely and most probable meaning is that it referred to a firearm.”
She said Bush-Enoka’s intoxication at the time may have raised doubt about her reliability as a witness but ultimately found her evidence “raw but credible”.
Cull said she was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Kopua shot Bush-Enoka and intended to cause grievous bodily harm.
The less serious alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm with reckless disregard for the safety of others was dismissed.
Six years for gang-related shooting
