THE ringleader of a group of nine young men and women who armed themselves with a 12-gauge shotgun, a knife and three baseballs bats and tried unsuccessfully to commit a home invasion at Valentine has pleaded guilty.
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Kalib Toko had pleaded not guilty to five offences in relation to the failed break-in in May, 2019, and was expected to face a trial in Newcastle District Court in 2021.
But on Thursday Toko appeared in Newcastle District Court via audio visual link from jail and pleaded guilty to a single charge of possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit intimidation in company.
The DPP accepted the plea in full satisfaction and the remaining charges were withdrawn.
Toko, along with co-offenders Ryan Harris and Zac Rolls-Fitzgerald, will be sentenced in Newcastle District Court on May 26.
Four other members of the group - Thor Olsen, Madden Wickens-Paynter, Cyrus Osaki and Oscar Billy Conway - will be sentenced next Wednesday. Two women remain before the courts.
