A teenager who murdered another after months of feuding will spend at least eight years behind bars.
By Finn Blackwell of RNZ
Maxwel-Dee Repia, 18, was killed on Turangi Rd in Grey Lynn in September 2024.
Three others he was with were also injured in the shooting.
Kayden Stanaway, who was 19 at the time of shooting, pleaded guilty to murder and three counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Stanaway, now 20, was sentenced to 16 years for murder at the High Court at Auckland, with a minimum period of eight years behind bars.
Stanaway sat in the dock before a packed public gallery, with many wiping tears away as statements from Repia's family were read out.
The victim's mother, Alison Repia, spoke about how her son had been misrepresented in the media.
"The way my son has been portrayed in the media has been very painful," she wrote.
"My son is not a headline, he is not content, is not a source of profit, he is my son and deserves dignity and respect."
She said Stanaway had not only taken her son's life but had also ruined his own.
"Nobody wins in this situation," she said.
Repia said dinner was ready that night, and 20 minutes later, she was watching her son take his last breath.
Repia's father was on his way to be with his son, his mother said, but arrived too late and was unable to see him.
"His father didn't get to see our son till five days later," she said.
Officers were called to "a report of a firearm being discharged" at a property on Tuarangi Rd shortly before 7pm. (Source: 1News)
Repia's aunt, R-Chee Saipele, told the court the stories about the feuding teens did not show the real him.
"He was outgoing and full of life, always wanting to be everywhere at once so he wouldn't miss out on time with the people he loved," she said.
"This is the side of Max that has not been spoken about, and this is who we are grieving."
Saipele said Repia had spoken about changing the way he lived in the time leading up to his death.
"He had started going to church, found a passion for training, and was motivated to improve himself."
Both the Crown and the defence agreed a sentence of life in prison would be manifestly unjust.
Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney sought an end sentence of 20 to 21 years' imprisonment, with a minimum prison period of 10 years, discounting for Stanaway's age and guilty plea.
Stanaway's lawyer, Jasper Rhodes, spoke to the court about the tragedy of what happened, saying his client accepted his actions were unreasonable.
"Through his guilty plea, he accepts his actions were not appropriate, his actions were not reasonable, his actions were not justified," he said.
He asked Justice Lang to look at the context of what happened and sought an end sentence of 14 years in prison, with a minimum of at least seven years behind bars.
A decision with 'catastrophic consequences'
Justice Graham Lang described the situation between Repia and Stanaway as a sustained period of animosity.
He said both families had suffered a tremendous tragedy.
"On the one side, the deceased's family have suffered the loss of a loved one," he said.
"The situation is in many ways similar, although not as catastrophic, for the Stanaway family, because a young man is about to receive a very lengthy term of imprisonment for a decision that was made in the space of a few seconds..."
Justice Lang made considerations whether to hand down a life sentence, noting his age and potential to rehabilitate, but acknowledging the loss of life and "catastrophic consequences" faced by Repia's friends and family.
The Sentencing Act – which sets out the laws for punishments – says the sentence for murder must be life in jail, unless it's considered "manifestly unjust".
Justice Lang pointed to a psychological report that said an early exposure to violence, chronic insecurity, a distorted perception of threat, and an impairment to regulate emotions appeared to lead to the offending.
Justice Lang said he was satisfied a life sentence would be manifestly unjust.
He sentenced Stanaway to 16 years in prison, with a minimum of eight years before he could apply for parole.
At the same time, he will serve four years for each of the wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm charges.
Months of tension, confrontations
An agreed summary of facts detailed months of tensions and confrontations between the parties, including Stanaway's car being smashed by Repia and his group, and multiple instances of Repia entering Stanaway's home and threatening his family.
Tensions had flared between Stanaway and Repia and his group after the former started a relationship with the ex-girlfriend of a friend of the group.
It culminated on September 5, 2024, when Repia arrived at Stanaway's house with a group and had a "heated" exchange with him and other friends present at the time.
As the situation escalated, including more threats, Repia stepped forward to the middle of the road "with his hands up in a position indicating an intention to engage in a fist fight", but soon stepped back onto the footpath, the document said.
An associate, David Lucas, was holding a backpack in front of him, as he stood on the other side of the road from Stanaway.
The agreed facts said Stanaway recognised him as the person who had previously sent him a photo holding a shotgun.
Repia's other associate, Daniel Kalekale, was also nearby, holding a cylindrical object.
As Lucas moved closer to Stanaway's group, Kalekale held up the cylindrical object towards Stanaway, before dropping his arm back down.
A third, Sione Salt, also raised his arm and held it up towards Stanaway around this time.
Stanaway subsequently reached for a gun in his car, "believing that at least one of the complainants had a firearm in their hands", the summary stated.
He rapidly fired four shots at the group in self-defence.
Repia died from a single gunshot wound to his chest at the scene.
Both Lucas and Salt suffered a single gunshot wound to the face, while Kalekale sustained a single gunshot wound to the side of his chest.
Stanaway fled in a car driven by an associate and was arrested in Pukekohe two days later.
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