Homicide investigation launched in Onehunga. Video / NZ Herald / Alex Burton
A South Auckland resident who fatally shot a patched gang member who was coming at him with a crowbar has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for prosecutors no longer pursuing a murder conviction.
Matthew Gregory Lemalu, 33, was inside his Onehunga apartment on the evening of August 31last year when Anthony Edward Rangi parked his vehicle nearby and started acting “somewhat erratically”, according to court documents.
Rangi was a patched member of the Black Power-affiliated gang Mangu Kaha. He was previously in the media spotlight as a defendant after a lengthy 2019 chase in which police shot at his vehicle.
Details of the case have been made public for the first time after Lemalu’s arraignment yesterday in the High Court at Auckland.
Justice Mathew Downs set a sentencing date for October.
The summary of facts that Lemalu agreed to does not specify if the two men knew each other.
Matthew Gregory Lemalu appears in the High Court at Auckland in September 2024 after he was charged with the murder of Anthony Rangi. Photo / Jason Dorday
Lemalu yelled at the other man to leave from his upstairs apartment window before going downstairs with a gun and opening 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’.”
Manslaughter victim Anthony Rangi. Photo / Supplied
Rangi, however, didn’t stop advancing, according to the agreed facts.
Lemalu shot him once in the thigh 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 he died at the scene.
Armed police guard the scene where Anthony Rangi was shot dead in August 2024. Photo / Alex Burton
Lemalu, meanwhile, fled in a vehicle. He was arrested the next day in Glen Eden and charged with murder.
Both manslaughter and murder carry a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, but the sentencing approach for both charges is different. All but a few murder cases result in a life sentence, meaning a convict can be recalled back 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 and in some circumstances a defendant can receive home detention.
Defence lawyer Philip Hamlin gave no indication as to what type of sentence he will be seeking. Justice Downs ordered Lemalu to return to jail to await sentencing.
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.
