A man was arrested and two firearms seized following an incident in Yates Rd, Mangere East. Photo / Hayden Woodward
A man was arrested and two firearms seized following an incident in Yates Rd, Mangere East. Photo / Hayden Woodward
A King Cobras gang member who fired a shotgun outside a South Auckland motel amid rising gang tensions, then was caught days later trying to hide a 3D-printed semi-automatic firearm at his workplace, has been sentenced to home detention.
Ōtāhuhu resident Monnier Time, 26, stood in the dock at ManukauDistrict Court today, wearing a suit and nodding quietly as Judge Jane Lovell-Smith warned him she plans to pay special attention to his progress over the next year and will call him back to court if needed.
“This is up to you, really — nobody else,” the judge emphasised. “You’ve got to understand what’s at risk if this sentence doesn’t succeed because there’s no other option for you [but prison].”
Police arrested Time in November 2021, one week after the Octover 20 shooting in the driveway of Yates Park Hotel in Māngere East.
Multiple King Cobras gang members pulled up to the property in two cars at about 10am and exited the vehicles with various firearms, according to a summary of facts.
“The other two [unidentified] males discharged several rounds from the firearms they were holding, and the defendant discharged at least one round from the shotgun in his possession,” court documents state. “The defendant and his associates got back into their vehicles and left the scene.”
No one was hurt.
A witness told the Herald shortly after the shooting that a man, believed to be a King Cobras gang member, had been run off his motorbike just before gunfire rang out.
One person was arrested that day and police said they spoke to a number of gang members. That same week, police said they raided alleged Rebels Motorcycle Club members in South Auckland following months of gang warfare between the Rebels and King Cobras involving arsons and shootings.
Police presence in the South Auckland suburb was boosted in the immediate aftermath of the Yates Rd shootings.
Police caught up with Time one week later after a co-worker at the Botany factory where he worked noticed him hiding a sports bag behind a stack of pallets. A supervisor was told about the unusual scene and opened the bag the next day, while Time wasn’t scheduled to work. The supervisor called police after finding a 3D-printed semi-automatic pistol and a magazine containing six rounds of ammunition inside the bag.
Police executed a search warrant at Time’s home and arrested him the next day.
The 3D gun was identified as an FGC-9 JStark1809, a semi-automatic pistol the design for which was released on the internet in 2020.
A 3D-printed FGC-9 Jstark1809 semi-automatic pistol. Photo / Supplied
Speaking to police after his arrest, Time said he knew it had been 3D-printed. He also acknowledged the gun, magazine and ammunition were all his.
“The defendant stated ... he has it for protection as he knew about the recent gang tensions,” court documents state. “He further stated that he left it at work because he didn’t want the police to find it at his house.”
Regarding the shooting a week prior, Time told police he fired one round only and wasn’t aiming the weapon at anyone.
Defence lawyer Justin Harder told the judge today that his client grew up in a gang environment but since his arrest has taken steps to turn his life around.
“He’s going to go back and hand in his patch, so there will be some stressors for him in that regard,” Harder said.
For the October 30 shooting, Time could have faced up to four years’ prison for carrying the shotgun for unlawful purposes and up to three years’ prison for discharging the weapon with reckless disregard for the safety of others. Regarding the workplace gun stash, he could have faced up to five years’ prison for unlawful possession of the firearm, up to four years’ prison for illegal possession of the ammunition and two years’ prison for the magazine.
But Judge Lovell-Smith noted that his only prior convictions involved two driving offences and a bail violation, which she described as “effectively appearing before the court for the first time”.
The defence had sought community detention but that wouldn’t be appropriate given the circumstances, she said. She instead ordered him to serve six months of home detention followed by six months of intensive supervision. Normally, she added, the sentence would be higher but she accepted the steps he has taken at reform.
A condition of his sentence will be that he not associate with any gang members — whether friends or family — unless given permission by a probation officer. He is, however, to be allowed to leave his home for work.
