Rei Marshall, a prospect of the Uru Taha gang, was killed during a clash with Mongrel Mob members.
A teen prospect involved in a gang-related murder assured the court he was cutting ties with the Mongrel Mob but after his calls to a jailed gang boss were intercepted, it was discovered he has instead been patched, complete with the gang’s insignia tattooed on his back.
The 17-year-old from Taranaki can now be revealed as Tana Ormsby-Turner after his bid for permanent name suppression was declined at his sentencing today.
He is the younger brother of Mongrel Mob West Coast chapter president Turanganui Ormsby-Turner, who was jailed in May for life with a minimum period of imprisonment of 10 years and six months for murdering Rei Joseph Tumatauinga Maihi Marshall.
Tana was originally also charged with the murder of Marshall, a 23-year-old Taranaki father of two, but went on to plead guilty to reduced charges of being an accessory after the fact and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
A third person charged in relation to the killing, patched mobster Hamiroa Laupama, was sentenced in December to five months of home detention for being an accessory after the fact. He was also initially charged with murder before it was reduced.
Tana’s sentencing in the High Court at New Plymouth was the final case to be heard in relation to the death.
He sat upright with his hands in his lap and stonefaced with his eyes fixed ahead for much of the hearing.
From a starting point of seven years’ imprisonment, Justice Francis Cooke applied around 70 per cent in discounts before sentencing the teen to 12 months of home detention.
He believed Tana still had a chance of being rehabilitated but said that could not be achieved in prison.
Following the sentencing, Crown prosecutor Cherie Clarke said she would be forwarding the decision to the Solicitor-General to consider an appeal of the outcome.
The hearing saw a number of police officers stationed around the courtroom and outside the building. There were also Mongrel Mob members who were wearing their patches outside.
The police presence followed previous hearings related to the murder in which the public gallery exploded into emotional scenes of chaos and shouting between Marshall’s whānau and gang associates.
Both parties returned to hear the judgment of Tana. The packed gallery sat quietly as the details of the slaying were read before them, once again.
Justice Cooke said that on the evening of August 3, Tana, then 16, Ormsby-Turner, 26, and Laupama, 25, arrived at a South Rd address in New Plymouth.
They were there to pick up an associate of the gang, and then the four of them were heading to “tax” someone who owed Ormsby-Turner money.
But when the gang associate arrived as planned, he had his brother with him - Marshall.
Despite his brother’s affiliations to the Mongrel Mob, Marshall was a prospect for rival gang Uru Taha.
He had been around the Mob before without any trouble and it was believed this encounter would be no different.
However, due to issues between the opposing gangs, Tana and his brother, Ormsby-Turner, became agitated when they saw him.
Shortly after, Laupama and Marshall crossed paths while inside the South Rd property.
They shared a heated exchange and Marshall threw a punch at Laupama but missed.
The situation escalated and Ormsby-Turner came up behind Marshall and stabbed him in the torso with a large hunting knife. Tana stepped in and began to rain blows on Marshall with a claw hammer.
Marshall’s brother intervened and the injured man was picked up and carried to the car.
They were then driven to Taranaki Base Hospital by a woman, but Marshall was pronounced dead shortly after they arrived.
While the hammer blows fractured the back of Marshall’s head, it was the stab wound that caused his death.
What followed was an attempt by Tana and Laupama to cover up the murder at the instruction of their boss, Ormsby-Turner.
The pair moved their car from the murder scene and dumped several items, including the knife, at East End Reserve in New Plymouth.
They got rid of the clothes they were wearing at the time of the stabbing by burning the items in the backyard of an associate.
On August 8, police executed a search of Ormsby-Turner’s house and the three were arrested.
In court, Marshall’s sister read aloud a victim impact statement on behalf of the whānau.
She described her brother’s murder as brutal and cowardly.
The whānau had been thrust into the painful process of navigating the court system while still dealing with the pain and sorrow of losing Marshall, she said.
“The loss our whānau has endured is immeasurable.
“My niece yearns for her father’s guidance and love, which Tana callously stole from her.”
She said Tana’s actions since Marshall’s death had failed to show any commitment to restoring his own mana or that of the whānau.
“Despite his claims of distancing himself from the mob and rejecting that path, it seems he celebrated his involvement in murdering our brother by receiving a patch.”
By holding Tana accountable, the whānau hoped they could find solace and create space for grieving without anger and pain.
“The justice system must prioritise the rights of the victims and their families, sending a resounding message that violence will not go unpunished,” she said.
Crown prosecutor Cherie Clarke submitted an end sentence of no less than five years and six months of imprisonment was appropriate for Tana.
She argued he was not remorseful and there was no hope of rehabilitation for him.
While accepting he was due credit for his guilty pleas, time spent on bail and his youth, Clarke submitted any discount for youth must be tempered as he had been given “every opportunity” by the court to distance himself from the gang but had chosen not to.
“He has become a patched member of the Mongrel Mob.”
Clarke said little weight could be given to a number of reports provided to the court to assist with sentencing Tana as “blatant lies” were told to the report writers about him ending his association with the gang and that he did not have any gang-related tattoos.
“Those lies were told because the offender knew what to say to try to say that he was distancing himself so that your Honour would give him full credit for youth.”
The police made the discovery of Tana’s patching and his tattoo after his phone calls with Ormsby-Turner were intercepted. A search of the address at which he was serving his electronically monitored bail also found a patch in his wardrobe, the court heard.
“This is what the Mongrel Mob do with their prospects and associates. When they kill another gang member, they patch them,” Clarke said.
Defence lawyer Kylie Pascoe said despite him having a patch, that did not mean he was unremorseful.
She said he had been indoctrinated into the gang and a cultural report provided a clear nexus between his background and his offending.
Tana felt stuck between his “deep commitment” to the gang and his wish to walk away, Pascoe submitted.
There was evidence confirming there was a chance he could be rehabilitated, but if he was jailed, Pascoe submitted that opportunity would cease and his gang association would only continue.
Credit for youth and his prospects for rehabilitation should be applied at the “highest, highest level of that spectrum”, she said.
Justice Cooke said the aggravating factors of Tana’s offending included serious injury, use of a weapon, attack to the head, multiple offenders and gang associations.
But he said Tana had not initiated the attack and was under the “significant” influence of his brother at the time, reducing the level of his culpability.
Despite Tana’s recent patching and whether he had lied to report writers, Justice Cooke did not believe that all Tana shared was untrue.
“In particular, I accept that you had no real alternative but to live life associated with the gang, particularly because of your brother’s influence, and that you would like a life away from the gang.
“I also accept that if you could find an alternative, you would like an attempt to live that life, and that you are not beyond redemption.”
He concluded there was “some” prospect of rehabilitation and it was “best for society to try to give you the chance to show that you can be a better person”.
But this was the last opportunity he was going to get, the judge warned.
“If you do not take the opportunity that will now be available to you, a life of crime, violence and misery will be your future. There is another way forward for you.”
Following discounts for guilty pleas, youth and background factors from the seven-year start point, Justice Cooke reached an endpoint of 24 months of imprisonment, which he then converted to 12 months of home detention coupled with 12 months of post-detention conditions.
The judge said the sentence came with “one important protection” - that being that Tana was not allowed to contact any Mongrel Mob members, including his brother, during that period.
If he breached that condition, he risked being sent to prison.
“In the end, your future is in your hands.”
Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff where she covered crime and justice, arts and entertainment and Māori issues.
It's alleged the man, armed with a knife, burgled seven homes and stole two cars.