Cop found guilty of murder

By JAYNE SAFIHAO
A BOGIA-based former mobile squad member charged with wilful murder was last Thursday found guilty.
Const Nathias Yangi, a local from base camp, will now face a sentence hearing on March 5.
The court was told that on Feb 15, 2011, a hired white 10-seater from Lae with seven young men on board was heading to Bogia when they were stopped by Yangi.
Yangi suspected there was marijuana in the vehicle when he smelled the car upon a visual check.
In the vehicle was a stock feed bag containing six 10kg rice bags filled with marijuana and which the driver and front passenger denied knowledge of.
The court was told Yangi spotted a pistol between the front seats but it turned out to be a toy pistol.
On seeing that, Yangi shouted to the other policemen at the roadblock to be on alert as he believed the men in the vehicle to be armed and dangerous.
The seven men are all from Mumeng in Morobe, except one, the driver. They are Junior Bon, Reagan David Menzi, Bobby Ango, Henry Piro, Titus Odi, Abobo Sarus and Andrew Conney Menzi.
The latter three are dead as a result of the shooting.
The court was told that in the first incident all seven were told to alight from the vehicle and ordered to lie flat on the road side at White Sand Market where Yangi shot four of them.
The policemen present them took the seven to the rural station where a second shooting incident took place.
It was 2am on Feb 16 by the time the two dead and five heavily bleeding suspects were taken to Modilon General Hospital.
Four days later Andrew Conney died from sepsis, a severe infection to his thigh and knee wounds.
The four survivors were discharged and were not charged with any trafficking offence.