A homeless 501 deportee who fatally shot a man in an act of “excessive self-defence” might not have found himself in such a tumultuous situation if Australia’s deportation scheme were more humane.
That was the argument advanced by Matthew Gregory Lemalu’s lawyer this week as the 33-year-old former murder defendant was sentenced to prison for a reduced charge of manslaughter.
In a letter of apology read in full to the court, Lemalu said he welcomed a prison sentence if it would comfort the family of Anthony Edward Rangi, who bled to death after he was shot in the thigh.
“On the night when we crossed paths, I wish the circumstances had been different,” Lemalu wrote.
“There was a lot of chaos going on from everyone there, but it should never have resulted in his passing.
“Growing up, I never thought I would be involved in an act like this, causing someone to lose their life. I am so sorry.
“I hope the last 14 months I have been in prison, and the years to come, will help your whānau with the grief.”
Justice Peter Andrew helped Lemalu fulfill his wish of penance via prison, ordering five years’ incarceration.
Lemalu moved with his family to Brisbane when he was a young child but found himself in the crosshairs of the Australian Government after convictions in October 2017 for robbery and attempted robbery.
He was deported to New Zealand in 2020 after serving his sentence.
His partner and young child followed him to New Zealand in 2022 but returned to Australia a year later after a domestic violence incident.
Lemalu, the judge pointed out, had been without his partner or any other family support for about eight months when the shooting took place on the evening of August 31 last year.
“He was essentially couch surfing as a returned offender from Australia,” his lawyer said, explaining Lemalu had turned to another 501 for support when he had no more family in New Zealand to lean on.
“Unfortunately, the Australian policy is unhelpful to us.”
The victim, a 50-year-old patched member of the Black Power-affiliated gang Mangu Kaha, also had a colourful history.
He was previously in the media spotlight as a defendant after a lengthy 2019 chase in which police shot at his vehicle.
But, more importantly, Rangi’s family said in a series of emotional victim impact statements, were his roles as a loving father, grandfather and brother.
“I never saw that side of him,” his eldest sister said of the gang affiliation.
She recalled changing his nappies and cuddling him when he was a baby, and long chats when he would stop by to visit as an adult.
“He was my support system,” she said, explaining he would always reach out to see how he could help, asking: “Do you need a ride? Do you need money?”
She said: “He was my personal protector and caregiver. He was not perfect, but he was my brother.”
Court documents suggest Rangi was in a different mindset on the night of his death.
CCTV showed him to be “behaving somewhat erratically” after he parked his vehicle about 9.45pm in the Onehunga carpark of the apartment where Lemalu was staying.
Lemalu yelled at Rangi to leave from the upstairs apartment window.
He then went downstairs with a gun and opened the front door.
“Mr Lemalu saw Mr Rangi rummaging in his boot,” the agreed summary of facts states. “Mr Rangi subsequently walked towards the door with something behind his back...
“As Mr Rangi was walking towards the door, Mr Lemalu pointed the firearm at Mr Rangi and told him to ‘f*** off’.”
Rangi, however, didn’t stop advancing and he had a crowbar in his hand.
Lemalu fired one shot at close range after Rangi raised his arms in the air, with the crowbar visible. Part of the confrontation was caught on CCTV.
An associate of the victim tried to perform first aid, as did first responders, but Rangi died at the scene.
Lemalu, meanwhile, fled in a vehicle. He was arrested the next day in Glen Eden.
Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney argued there was “a level of premeditation” to the shooting, explaining Lemalu must have known nothing good could come of opening the door with a loaded gun.
She asked for any sentence reductions, other than for Lemalu’s guilty plea, to be minimal in light of the already reduced charge.
The Crown had agreed to the charge swap because of the element of self-defence, which reduced his culpability even if the overall response was excessive and unreasonable.
On paper, manslaughter and murder carry maximum possible sentences of life imprisonment, but in practice, each carries a significantly different sentencing approach.
All but a few murder cases result in a life sentence, meaning a convict can be recalled to prison at any time, even if released on parole.
Manslaughter cases rarely, if ever, result in the maximum sentence. There is no minimum sentence.
The defence this week asked for a starting point of between five and a half and six years’ imprisonment, while the Crown sought between six and six and a half years.
Justice Andrew settled on six years before allowing a 25% discount for Lemalu’s guilty plea and a six-month uplift for his previous offending.
While the judge said he accepted Lemalu’s remorse was genuine, he declined the defence’s request for additional discounts of between 5% and 15% for his background and apology letter.
“This was serious, violent offending,” the judge said, pointing out “the long-lasting impact on the victim’s whānau”.
He thanked Rangi’s family for what he characterised as passionate and heartfelt victim impact statements.
The statements included one from his daughter, a mother of four, who said she had only recently connected with Rangi, who appeared to have mellowed after a lifetime in and out of jail.
“He pulled through when I needed him the most,” she said. “I’ve never seen love like the love he had for my mokos.”
But after finally getting him back in her life, “he was stolen”, she said.
“It has robbed my children of the grandfather they were finally getting to know,” she said. “I wish you could see the ... cost of what you stole.”
She felt “crushing guilt” for not being able to protect her father and, for a time, lost her sanity, she said.
“My world was brutally shattered,” she said. “You will never understand the devastation you have brought to our lives.”
In the end, she said, she chose to forgive Lemalu so that she could forgive herself.
Others weren’t in such a merciful mindset.
“Sorry,” the defendant said at one point, turning around as he stood in the dock to address the crowded courtroom gallery.
“Sorry’s not good enough, bro,” a family member loudly replied. “He’s not coming back.”
The same woman addressed Lemalu again at the end of the hearing, calling him names and yelling that five years was inadequate for the taking of a life as he was taken back to a holding cell.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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