Late-night mayhem: Senior gang member leads assaults on bar patrons, uppercuts woman

As violence spread across a crowded bar, a senior gang member punched a woman repeatedly in the head and stomach, causing her to lose consciousness briefly and collapse. 

As she pitched forward, he grabbed her by the collar of her dress, pulled her back to her feet, and delivered a final uppercut to her face. 

She fell heavily to the ground. 

She was one of eight people – five men and three women – assaulted by Winitana Lucky Dellow in the space of five minutes as mayhem erupted at the Common Room bar in Hastings in the early hours of March 8 this year. 

Dellow and four fellow Mongrel Mob members or associates have appeared in the Napier District Court for sentence on an array of assault charges for attacking bar patrons. 

Dellow, described by police as the senior man who “set the tone” for the group violence, was sent to prison for 31 months. 

The others received home detention or community detention. 

The Common Room, which had attempted to bring an eclectic nightlife vibe and live acts to the Hastings CBD, has since closed its doors to the general public, although it still hosts private events and functions. 

Its owners cited a “final straw” arson attempt in August and the “ongoing challenges” of running a venue that stayed open into the early hours of the morning. 

The violence which broke out at 1.38am on March 8 was sparked by a verbal dispute between two women and quickly escalated across the garden bar area at the rear of the venue. 

It went on for several minutes, captured on CCTV, and a police summary of facts identified 10 bar patrons as victims, several of whom suffered injuries including bruising, black eyes, jaw pain and facial cuts and swelling. 

One man was taken to hospital by ambulance and underwent a CT scan. Another sought medical treatment the next day and was off work for two weeks. A third suffered a two-day migraine. 

The woman who was knocked briefly unconscious and received the uppercut from Dellow had black eyes and a cut to her eyebrow consistent with the imprint of a ring. 

The summary of facts described people being attacked by Dellow first, and then Dellow’s associates piling in to attack the same person, even if they were on the ground. 

Dellow punched one man 12 times to the head and face. Several of his associates then joined the assault, surrounding the man and repeatedly punching and kicking him. 

Winitana Dellow, in the black shirt on the right, punches another patron during a brawl at the Common Room bar in Hastings in March 2026. Photo / NZ Police 

Judge Richard Earwaker said Dellow could have used his seniority in the gang to stop the violence, rather than aggravate it. 

“Everyone else climbed in because he was,” Judge Earwaker said. 

One of the associates, Christopher Wirihana, who was involved in attacks on three people, later told police: “I saw some people I knew attacking, so I jumped in.” 

Dellow admitted 10 charges, including injuring with intent, male assaults female and common assault. 

He was sent to prison for two years and seven months. He has already been in custody for more than six months, which will count towards that sentence. 

Ratahi Caleb Rawiri Lay admitted two charges against two victims in the Common Room brawl, and his sentence also took into account two assaults he committed in an unrelated incident at Mangakino last year. 

He received 12 months of home detention. 

Wirihana admitted four charges against his three victims. 

Jhon Charles Hanara faced three charges against three victims. 

The assaults took place in the Common Room bar in Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland 

Masyn Ratima pleaded guilty to five charges against five victims. 

They all received six months of community detention, involving being on an ankle bracelet with a night-time curfew, and 12 months of intensive supervision by a probation officer. 

In addition to Dellow’s assault on the woman he uppercut, the summary of facts described attacks by Dellow on two other women. 

He twice punched one of them in the face with such force that she fell backwards to the ground, in separate assaults about five minutes apart. 

On the second occasion, she got back onto her feet and raised her hands and arms in an attempt to ward off any further blows. 

Dellow then punched her in the face again, causing her to fall once more. 

He assaulted the third woman while she had her arms around the second woman, trying to protect her. 

Dellow punched the third woman in the face also, causing her head to snap backwards. 

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.