Friends of 18-year-old Kyle Jenkins have left a tribute at the layby on Otaika Valley Road, Whangārei, where police say he was shot on the evening of 28 January 2025. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
A man has been arrested in relation to the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Kyle Jenkins on a Northland roadside last week.
The accused appeared in the Whangārei District Court on Tuesday morning on a charge of murder with a firearm.
The 20 year old was granted interim name suppression and remanded in custody.
He did not enter a plea and is next due in the High Court at Whangārei on 21 February.
Jenkins' body was found in a creek next to Otaika Valley Road - or State Highway 15 - on the morning of 29 January.
His motorcycle was found in a nearby layby, opposite the entrance to Otaika Valley Scenic Reserve.
The layby on Otaika Valley Road, Whangārei, where police say 18-year-old Kyle Jenkins was shot on the evening of 28 January 2025. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
The officer in charge of the investigation, Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pilmer, said the breakthrough came just under a week after Jenkins' death.
Several search warrants had been carried out in recent days, and a "person of interest" was spoken to late on Monday.
That had culminated in the man being charged.
"This is a significant development in our investigation which has progressed rapidly in recent days, along with information that has been coming from public appeals."
Pilmer said the victim's family had been informed about the arrest.
"Our thoughts are with his family, as they continue to grieve the loss of a son and prepare for his funeral today," Pilmer said.
Meanwhile, Pilmer said police were trying to trace the movements of a distinctive red Daihatsu car with faded panels on the front driver's side.
The car had been recovered by police.
Pilmer said he needed to hear from anyone who had seen the vehicle in the Otaika Valley Road and Mangakahia Road areas between 8.15pm and 9.15pm on Tuesday, 28 January.
He also wanted to hear from anyone with dashcam footage.
Pilmer said police would set up checkpoints in the Otaika Valley Road area on Tuesday evening, exactly a week since the alleged murder, as part of their appeal for information.
Earlier, police said they believed he had been killed between 7pm and 11pm the previous night.
Police working on the investigation, code-named Operation Distant, had set up a dedicated online portal at distant.nc3.govt.nz so people could upload any footage or photos.
Information could also be provided by calling 105 and quoting file number 250129/0335 or, anonymously, via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
Otaika Valley Road was closed for almost two days following Jenkins' death, which police initially described as unexplained.
Friends have left a tribute at the layby, attaching 'Kyle' in painted wooden letters to a guard rail between the layby and the creek.
The Maungatapere teenager is understood to have worked in a café in central Whangārei.
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