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A convicted killer awaiting sentence was mistakenly released from custody in Manukau by police after he had appeared in a separate court on a minor charge.
The brief foray of freedom for Maui Warahi, aka Jay Maui Wallace, after a police bungle at the Manukau DistrictCourt on Wednesday ended when he was found by police and willingly returned to custody after a few hours.
The incident came a day after another man was mistakenly released from custody at the Dunedin District Court.
The Ministry of Justice said questions on the cause of Wallace’s accidental release should be directed to police, who staff and run the Counties Manukau Custody Unit, which services both the Manukau police station and District Court.
A police spokeswoman confirmed to the Herald that police accidentally let the man out.
The 49-year-old man had been appearing on a minor charge and was convicted and discharged.
Following his appearance, the convicted killer was mistakenly released by police instead of being returned to the custody unit.
The spokeswoman said police quickly realised the error and located the man at an address in Ōtāhuhu just after 10pm where he was taken back into custody without incident.
Wallace, 49, had been awaiting sentencing in the Auckland High Court after earlier this year admitting the manslaughter of a 60-year-old man in Manurewa on April 17 last year.
The victim died in hospital after suffering serious head injuries.
Wallace’s lawyer Ina Stewart confirmed his accidental release.
There is no suggestion Wallace engineered his release or made any attempt to evade authorities during his brief moment of freedom.
“It is concerning that there is so little checks and balances,” Stewart said.
Maui Warahi, aka Jay Maui Wallace, is set to appear in the Auckland High Court in November for sentence after admitting a manslaughter charge.
Ministry of Justice chief operating officer Carl Crafar said there was no system-wide issue behind the mistaken releases in Dunedin and Auckland, and they were unaware of any other incidents.
In 2022, the Court of Appeal rejected his claim that he had been unlawfully detained, following a similar 2016 application to the High Court.
His beliefs shared similarities with those of the Sovereign Citizen movement, whose proponents claim individuals have legal or “corporate” personalities alongside their flesh and blood personas, among other beliefs.
The Otago Daily Times reported a 32-year-old was arrested on Tuesday after taking a bus from Dunedin to Waikouaiti after his mistaken release.
