Northlander who shot dead fellow gang member to serve at least 15 years in jail

Rawden "Big Boy" Yates has been ordered to serve at least 15 years for murder before he's eligible for parole. Photo/John Stone

A Northlander who shot dead a fellow gang member has been ordered to serve at least 15 years behind bars.

Rawden Yates, 38, was sentenced in the High Court at Whangārei to life in prison with a minimum non parole period of 15 years.

He shot Kimble Moore, 48, a patched member of the Tribesmen gang from Waipapakauri in the Far North, in March 2016. Yates is also a Tribesman.

Rawden Yates (left) and Kimble Moore were fellow Tribesmen members.

Moore was reported missing from Taipa by his partner and his body was found buried in a shallow grave six months later in the Fairburn area. He was shot twice in the back and once in the side.

Justice Mathew Downs said Yates' actions were callous in that he shot Moore three times, disposed off his body in a shallow grave, concealed or disposed off evidence, and lied to the deceased's family about his whereabours.

The judge described Yates' claim that he acted in self defence when he shot Moore as "fiction" as evidence during trial did not support his argument.

Yates was found guilty by a jury after a three-week trial in August.

A large number of Moore's family and friends, including his mother and younger brother, filled up the public gallery during the sentencing.

The Crown applied for a minimum non parole of no less than 17 years while Yates' lawyer Nick Leader argued the court could arrive at a sentence lower than that period.