A recidivist offender who shot a small-time Auckland drug dealer while robbing him of his stash and recent gaming machine jackpot had been on electronically monitored post-prison release conditions at the time of the murder – but had cut off his tracking device.
That factor of Benjamin “Dekoy” Mcintosh’s murder in June 2022 was highlighted for the first time last week as prosecutors sought a lengthy non-parole period for Ethan Dane Dodds, who returned to the High Court at Auckland for sentencing.
Justice Graham Lang agreed that Section 104 of the Sentencing Act – calling for a non-parole period of at least 17 years in some of the most egregious murder cases, including ones that took place in the course of a robbery – had been met. But he also ultimately agreed with Dodds’ lawyer that imposing such a sentence would be “manifestly unjust” because the killing, while reckless, had not been planned or intended.
The 25-year-old was instead ordered to serve a life sentence with a minimum period of 12 years before he can begin to apply for parole.
Co-defendant Julius “Pete East” Te Hiva Ka, who was also found guilty of murder but wasn’t alleged to have been armed during the robbery, was ordered to serve a life sentence with a minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
Mcintosh, 36, was found unconscious and bleeding in his still-running car at Harold Moody Park in Glen Eden on the morning of June 3, 2022, about 30 minutes after being shot. He was taken off life support days later.
Te Hiva Ka, an addict who would sometimes buy drugs from Mcintosh, had arranged a meeting at the West Auckland reserve under the guise of a $350 methamphetamine purchase. Dodds, toting a sawn-off semi-automatic rifle, had never met Mcintosh in person but had been spending time lately with the victim’s on-again-off-again girlfriend.
In the witness box, Dodds insisted his only reason for bringing the gun was to scare Mcintosh over rumours of a previous unrelated incident supposedly involving Mcintosh and an unidentified friend’s mother. The defendant, a Crips gang member known by the nickname “Ecep”, admitted the gun went off while he was holding it in the back seat of Mcintosh’s car, causing Mcintosh’s death. But he claimed the trigger was pulled by accident and the taking of Mcintosh’s wallet and drugs stash was merely an afterthought as he fled the scene in shock.
“I reject your evidence on this issue, as I’m sure did the jury,” Justice Lang said as he considered Dodds’ sentence. “I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that you took the firearm to the park with the intention of using it to scare Mr McIntosh into handing over any drugs and cash that he might have in his possession.”
Mcintosh was remembered in a series of victim impact statements as someone who lit up a room with his infectious laugh.
“He brought life and joy to everyone he encountered,” his mother told the court. “His life mattered. He wasn’t just a number. He was my son.”
In a written statement read aloud by prosecutors, Mcintosh’s father described how the killing “has left us all broken”.
“He was never a violent man,” the father continued. “He had the gift for gab and would talk his way out of trouble rather than fight.”
Mcintosh was also never one to hold a grudge, the father wrote, expressing hope the defendants would reflect on their actions while serving their sentences and some good might come of it.
The victim was also remembered as a loving father to his only child.
“She is a beautiful 10-year-old girl who before Ben’s death had no problems making friends and thinking positively,” the mother of his child told the court. “Since he died she now has difficulties in most aspects of her life because she doesn’t understand why her dad was taken away so horribly.
“She has slipped into a deep depression. Although she gets professional help there really is no way for her at such a young age to healthily process feelings no child should have to feel.”
The mother blamed everyone in the dock for collectively playing a part in Mcintosh’s death.
“Ben will never get to watch his daughter grow into a mother, wife or see her achievements,” she added. “This will affect my daughter for the rest of her life no matter how much she tries to heal. Ultimately, you took away a life and ruined many including your own.
“As a mother, this will also affect my life forever. I am constantly reminded of Ben’s looks and sense of humour daily through my daughter. It makes the healing hard because he should be here seeing it also.”
Dodds’ lawyer, Annabel Maxwell-Scott, emphasised during the hearing that her client took responsibility for causing the death and was remorseful for that. She noted the single shot first went through Mcintosh’s shoulder before exiting his body and re-entering into his head – evidence, she said, that the killing was never intentional.
She described Dodds as someone who was marred by an exceptionally dysfunctional upbringing, enough to be worthy of a reduction to his overall sentence.
“From the age of 9, he ... had no chance – drugs, alcohol and gang membership before he was 10,” she said.
The judge agreed. He noted a long list of prior convictions resulting in him having spent the majority of his life so far either in state care or prison. He has rarely spent more than three months at a time outside criminal justice facilities since the age of 11.
Justice Lang also agreed Mcintosh’s death hadn’t been intentional, even if the shooting itself was. Crown prosecutors Brett Tantrum and Conrad Purdon argued he was guilty of murder because he knew firing the gun carried the risk of causing death and he took the chance anyway.
“I consider it most likely that some form of struggle occurred after you entered Mr McIntosh’s vehicle and produced the firearm,” the judge surmised. “At this point, you intentionally discharged the firearm in Mr McIntosh’s direction.”
Dodds, who chewed gum throughout the hearing, left the dock before Te Hiva Ka was brought in so the sentencing process could be repeated. The Crown again sought a 17-year non-parole period and it again was declined.
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield KC described his client as someone who had a promising talent for rugby league but couldn’t escape the clutches of methamphetamine addiction that had mired both of his parents. The 27-year-old had left a good impression during his time in prison so far, Mansfield said, describing Te Hiva Ka as “a very quiet and understated personality” and “very respectful of others”.
The defence lawyer also made a somewhat unusual request for Justice Lang to find that a life sentence would be manifestly unjust given his client’s lower culpability and his strong prospects for rehabilitation. The judge quickly declined, noting his essential role in luring Mcintosh to the secluded park that morning.
The most anger from the courtroom gallery came following the sentencing of third co-defendant Tamirah Baker, who was never charged with murder but was found guilty at trial of being an accessory to murder after the fact and unlawful possession of the murder weapon.
She had been dating the victim up until his death before starting a relationship in the days that followed with Dodds, helping him hide from authorities for five days. The two were arrested side-by-side after she led police on a wild pursuit in which spikes were deployed and their stolen car eventually had to be rammed off the road.
Justice Lang said he was satisfied she would have been the person who tipped off Dodds and Te Hiva Ka that Mcintosh had just come into a surge of cash thanks to his gaming machine jackpot. He scolded her for an ingenuine attempt at portraying grief over Mcintosh’s death during a recorded interview with police that was later played for jurors. He said her end sentence needed to be lengthened because she was on bail when she went into hiding with Dodds and knew she was the subject of an active warrant.
But the judge also acknowledged – and the Crown conceded – that her 18 months on electronically monitored bail awaiting trial and her four months already in custody necessitated a discount that would put her sentence in the non-custodial range. He ordered an end sentence of six months’ home detention.
“Bitch!” one woman in the gallery yelled as she was led out of the courtroom.
“Unbelievable!” yelled another.
A fourth co-defendant who avoided trial after pleading guilty at the last minute was sentenced last month. Donna Dodds, the 61-year-old mother of Ethan Dodds, was ordered by the same judge to serve 14 months’ imprisonment for attempting to pervert the course of justice. She admitted to driving Dodds out of Auckland immediately after the shooting and providing a false alibi to police.
It came less than 24 hours after she had been sentenced to intensive supervision for trying to influence witnesses in another investigation involving her son. This time, the judge said, prison was needed to send a stronger message.
An earlier version of this article reported that Ethan Dodds had been wearing an ankle monitor due to conditions of his parole, as was stated by authorities during the sentencing hearing. However, the Parole Board has since clarified he was no longer on parole at the time but was required to continue wearing an ankle monitor as part of his post-prison release conditions.
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.
The man then went on to kick a police officer while being walked to a patrol car.