After receiving a life sentence for murder, a patched Killer Beez member said he aspired to earn a “low risk” classification so that he could make the best of his long haul in prison.
But when his efforts failed to pay off, he regressed to his old ways - giving a Corrections officer a concussion as he lashed out in frustration, a court was recently told.
Now Tamati Kas Simpson, 27, has an additional prison sentence he must serve although, in reality, the end result for Simpson, by law, will be no different than if the attack had never occurred.
“The Sentencing Act 2002 states that in the circumstances where a defendant is already subject to an indeterminate period of imprisonment, any subsequent sentence of imprisonment imposed can only be concurrent,” Judge Alan Wharepouri noted recently as he announced a 10-and-a-half-month term.
“For that reason, Mr Simpson, that is how I deal with you today.”
Simpson was sentenced to life, with a minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years, out of the High Court at Auckland in March last year - five years after he gunned down 23-year-old Faaifo “Joe” Siaosi, who bled to death in his mother’s arms in the front yard outside the family’s Ōtara home.
Simpson was initially implicated in two Auckland murders during an alleged month-long 2019 crime spree alongside a close mate and co-defendant who continues to have name suppression.
But jurors in 2023 found him guilty of only one of the murders, acquitting him of the other. His mate, meanwhile, was found guilty of the other murder and acquitted of the one Simpson was found guilty of.
The pair had been driving through the neighbourhood in a Holden Commodore that afternoon when they spotted Siaosi and another man outside Siaosi’s home. The victim stared back at them, the court was previously told.
The duo kept driving but returned a short time later, stopping outside the victim’s home. They were asked to leave, followed by a verbal argument in which Siaosi challenged both defendants to a fight, Justice Christian Whata noted at Simpson’s sentencing.
But then the victim walked away, the judge said.
Simpson pulled out a sawn-off .22 rifle, pointed it Siaosi, hesitated, then shot, Justice Whata said.
The judge described Simpson’s behaviour as impulsive, reckless and a “grossly disproportional” reaction to having been earlier challenged to a fight.
Simpson claimed he intended to fire a warning shot, but the jury’s verdict suggested otherwise.
Although gang affiliation was not a factor in the shooting, the ongoing gang warfare between the Killer Beez and the Tribesmen at the time had caused Simpson’s already unstable home environment to be even more so, the judge noted. Simpson’s family had been torn between allegiances, with his older brother a member of the Tribesmen.
The defendant’s lawyer for the murder told the judge at Simpson’s sentencing that he had significantly matured in the years since the shooting. Simpson now felt remorse, she said, and had taken courses in prison to better himself.
“He is really on a path of rehabilitation,” she said. “The person who went into prison is not the person who’s here today.”
Justice Whata expressed encouragement by the defendant’s efforts. Serving his time while continuing to work on self-improvement would restore his mana, he told Simpson.
But by April this year, about 13 months after the High Court hearing, Simpson’s impulsive and violent tendencies appeared to have resurfaced.
He had been housed in Block House Three at Auckland South Correctional Facility in Wiri when he was told he would be moving to another area of the prison.
“The defendant asked the [Corrections officer] victim why he was being relocated,” states the summary of facts that Simpson later agreed to.
“The victim said it may be due to behavioural issues. This upset the defendant.”
The officer then approached Simpson, putting his hand on the inmate’s arm and asking him to return to his unit.
That’s when Simpson threw two punches to the officer’s face, causing the victim to suffer a concussion and bruising to his eye and lips.
Judge Wharepouri outlined the brief facts just over a month ago as Simpson was sentenced out of the Manukau District Court for one count of assault with intent to injure, punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment. His sentencing notes were recently provided to the Herald.
“You told the [pre-sentence] report writer that you regret the offending and have no excuse for your behaviour,” the judge said.
“However, you explained that after being sentenced in connection with your murder conviction that you had worked hard to get a ‘low risk’ classification in the prison so that you could attend a number of programmes and enjoy certain privileges that came with that classification.
“You said that when the victim spoke to you about a plan to move you back to a high-security block, you feared a reclassification.”
Simpson described the corrections officer as unwilling to answer his questions and dismissive of him.
When the victim placed his hand on Simpson after having “argued back and forth”, Simpson said he “just lost control”.
The judge ordered a 14-month starting point for the sentence before allowing reductions of four-and-a-half months for his guilty plea and background. He declined, however, to allow a discount for remorse.
One month was then added to account for Simpson’s previous convictions for violence.
Simpson’s lawyer had asked the judge to ignore the usual uplift “because it would make no practical difference” given the 10-year non-parole period he was already serving for the murder life sentence, the judge noted.
Judge Wharepouri didn’t disagree that it made little difference, but he said he must go through the process anyway.
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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