South Auckland drive-by shootings: Killer Beez member Paul Cassidy pleads guilty

A Killer Beez gang member pleaded guilty today to his part in gang warfare that terrorised South Auckland suburb Ōtara over the course of a day.

Authorities have previously said the November 2020 shootings involving Paul Cassidy and others were meant to target members of rival gang the Tribesmen, but the damaged homes included neighbours who were inside at the time and had nothing to do with the gang warfare. No one was injured.

Appearing in the High Court at Auckland today before Justice Neil Campbell, Cassidy pleaded guilty to three counts of intentionally damaging property by shooting at homes on three different roads, as well as one count of aggravated burglary of a home in the area and one count of participating in an organised criminal group.

He could face up to 14 years' prison for the burglary conviction and 10 years each for the other charges.

The guilty plea comes one month after co-defendant Michael Crawford was sentenced to seven years and four months' prison for orchestrating the shootings, which prosecutors said were prompted after members of the other gang stole his motorbike and his patch.

Police said more than two dozen people were believed to have been involved in the shootings, arriving from as far away as Picton after organising a meet-up via a Facebook Messenger group.

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It appeared high-powered semi-automatic firearms were used in the shootings, Justice Grant Powell said at Crawford's sentencing, describing the group as having felt "they were entitled to storm through communities in Ōtara, shooting wildly and recklessly as if they owned the place". He referred to the 2020 shootings as a precursor to the "reign of terror" in Auckland earlier this year due to rivalries between the two gangs.

Multiple co-defendants have pleaded not guilty and still await trial.

Cassidy was already serving an eight years and eight months sentence prior to today's guilty pleas. He is set to be sentenced on the new convictions in October.