Auckland gun bust: Ex-con Brent Allen stole firearms licence holder's identity
Judge Evangelos Thomas noted that Allen appeared to be a 'pretty low-level dealer', but the extra layer of charges resulted in his sentence being increased to the point where home detention was not a consideration.
Most of the judge's admonishment, however, was devoted to the weapons scheme.
Auckland District Court Judge Evangelos Thomas. Photo / Sam Hurley
'You dragged into this an innocent member of the public,' he said of the legitimate firearms licence holder whose identity was stolen, adding that the defendant then got rid of the guns 'in a way that allowed them to be used ... by criminal elements'.
'It goes without saying that there is a very significant public interest in responding firmly against anyone who contributes in any way to uncontrolled firearms being in the community,' the judge continued.
'I can refer you to many families – innocent families – whose lives would be much different if we were better able to control restricted firearms in the underworld.'
Guns for sale
Court documents state Allen set up a fraudulent Trade Me account in March last year under the name of the man whose licence he had forged. Two days later, he purchased a $210 Stirling M20 Semi Auto 22LR rifle from a seller in Torbay, on Auckland's North Shore.
Allen had superimposed his own photo over that of the legitimate licence holder and altered the date of birth to more closely match his own age.
When the fraud went off seemingly without a hitch, he tried again just over a week later, this time agreeing to pay the same seller $605 for three more rifles. He paid $300 in cash but then ripped off the seller for the other half, promising to make a bank transfer that never happened.
Just less than two weeks later, police found one of the three guns while executing a search warrant at a Clendon Park home.
'An associate of Mr Allen's has been charged with unlawful possession of the firearm,' court documents state.
Exactly two months after the search warrant arrest, police discovered the first gun Allen had bought during a traffic stop on Auckland Central's Karangahape Rd. That also resulted in the arrest of an associate.
Allen initially denied having or using a forged firearms licence, telling police he had received the guns from the licence holder whose identity he was later found to have stolen. The victim, however, did not know Allen, police pointed out.
'He claims he did this [picked up the guns] as a favour to an unknown associate,' explains the agreed summary of facts. 'He states he took the firearms to an unspecified address in Albany and doesn't know what happened after that.'
Judge Thomas described the summary of facts as 'very vague'.
'What does the Crown say Mr Allen did?' he asked during the hearing. 'Who cut it down? Did he know it was going to be cut down?'
Crown prosecutor Eleanor Cato acknowledged that some questions remain unanswered, including how the items ended up cut down and in the hands of other people.
'It's reasonable to conclude that he was buying them for illegal purposes,' she said.
'Our citizens need to be protected'
Allen faced up to four years' imprisonment for a representative charge of unlawfully possessing a firearm and up to 10 years for using forged documents. Offering to supply MDMA and GBL both carry 14-year maximum sentences.
He had initially been charged with supplying a Class A drug, which would have carried a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, but that charge was later withdrawn.
Allen also pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining by deception two electric bicycles that were ordered online. He was sentenced to a short prison term in 2022 for similar offending.
Defence lawyer Alex Slipper presented to the court several certificates his client had earned at a drug rehab centre over the past two months. But the defendant had put a lot of thought into the matter and decided a short prison term followed by post-release conditions would be better for his continued recovery than being ordered to stay at the rehab centre under home detention conditions, Slipper said.
His client had formed a drug habit at a young age due to a difficult childhood and his addiction, accompanied by dishonesty offending, had defined his life for most of the past decade, the lawyer explained.
'To be blunt ... I think Mr Allen's remand in custody has actually been somewhat beneficial to him,' Slipper added. 'He knows that he's capable of more.
'He realised the associates he has been interacting with had enabled him to not address his addictions.'
That being said, Slipper argued that the sentence shouldn't be too long after taking into account his client's remorse, rehab, guilty pleas and background.
The judge ordered a starting point of three years for the gun-related charges then uplifted it by nine months for the drugs and dishonesty offending and 2.5% for his criminal history. He then allowed 35% in reductions for mitigating factors.
'It's getting worse,' the judge said of illegal guns in the community. 'The fear of it is getting worse. The court's response to it is getting heavier.
'... There are offences from which our citizens need to be firmly protected.'
The resulting sentence was two years and three months' imprisonment, just shy of the two-year mark where a judge can consider non-custodial alternatives. The judge then added three months of imprisonment in exchange for cancelling $15,000 in fines from previous cases.
Another $12,000 in restitution to his previous victims remains outstanding.
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.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
8 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Paulo Dias jailed for sexual abuse after girl attends Keeping Ourselves Safe seminar at school
The victim, 19, who was aged 11 at the time, was in tears as she addressed Dias in the Christchurch District Court last week. 'I built a wall around my life, I feel I have been stripped of my safety, I lost self-motivation, he made me so confused, he turned it all around to make it all my problem.' Dias, who was known to the victim, abused her on two occasions several years ago but continues to deny his offending, despite being found guilty by a jury. 'Imprisonment is a price to pay' The victim's stepmother stood and addressed the 59-year-old, telling him her stepdaughter had at times lost her will to live. 'She has shown maturity and bravery through the years; we wish this is something she never had to endure. 'There is no question that imprisonment is a price to pay for the damage you have caused to an innocent child and her family.' The girl said she felt uncomfortable the first time Dias abused her but he 'kept reassuring me that it was all right, that it was the right thing to do and that it was our secret'. On the second occasion, she told him to stop, but he ignored her. The victim realised what happened was wrong when she attended a Keeping Ourselves Safe seminar at school. Judge Michael Crosbie said the victim confronted Dias after the seminar but he laughed at her. The judge said Dias was found guilty in March by a jury of two charges of unlawful sexual connection. It was the second jury trial Dias had faced, with the victim and her family attending and giving evidence on both occasions, after the jury at the first one were unable to agree and verdicts were not returned. 'You will encourage others to come forward' The judge acknowledged the victim's bravery in coming forward. 'In no small way you will encourage others to come forward. I know the justice system is far from perfect, we have tried to make it easier over the years. 'I'm not saying this was easy for you. Your impact statement will resound with me, these types of things tear families apart.' Judge Crosbie told Dias he needed to reflect on what he had told police. 'It's not unusual for men who don't accept verdicts to change their minds as time goes on, you preyed on this young woman, this young child.' Judge Crosbie sentenced Dias to four years and six months' jail. Dias was also placed on the Child Sex Offenders Register as part of his sentencing. Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.
Otago Daily Times
9 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Kilo of Singapore meth shipped to Dunedin boarding house
An Australian deportee has been jailed for four and a-half years after a kilogram of meth was shipped to Dunedin from Singapore. Grant Jeffrey Beale, 58, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this week after pleading guilty to importing the class-A drug, supplying it and offering to supply. It was not as though the 501 deportee was the kingpin of the operation, funding a lifestyle of luxury — he had been living in a boarding house and stood to make only $10,000 from the "risky" enterprise. While the drug consignment landed in Dunedin on July 12 last year, the collapse of the illicit operation began six days earlier. That day, Customs intercepted a 13kg package destined for Auckland, listed as containing "halle bone curette fiber handle", seemingly orthopaedic surgical instruments. But once the parcel was opened, officers discovered nearly 2kg of methamphetamine. The drug haul then led them to Beale. Customs records showed a near-identical package had been delivered to a Dunedin address on July 12 last year. It had the same gross weight, supplier, contact number and consignment description as the Auckland one. Inquiries revealed the parcel had been sent to a Dunedin backpackers, addressed to "Marcell Cogan" — a fictitious name. Behind the scenes, Beale had arranged for another man to be paid $5000 to retrieve the meth, which had a street value of up to $500,000. Court documents noted the defendant was receiving orders from those higher up the chain and was not involved in organising the shipment. He also had nothing to do with the Auckland incident. Beale's intercepted cellphone messages revealed what happened in the following weeks. He told an associate the "gear is fine not chunky" before asking him to delete their correspondence. Much of Beale's subsequent communications were shrouded in a thinly veiled code language, discussing "3 quarter drive 21mm". "I'll send car to same mechanic as last time yes I think they done good job," he wrote. While it was obvious to police that Beale was referencing three-quarters of an ounce of meth (21g), it was evidently too cryptic for his counterpart. "You lost me mate? Don't think that message was for me," the man wrote. Beale later received texts from another party, speaking about half a ton of "wood". The following day, though, the charade was dropped as the drug buyer criticised the quality of the supposed timber. "It's orange," the customer sent. "My pipes all black at bottom ... wheres the good dry rock we got at start." (sic) Counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner stressed Beale's role was "effectively operational than managerial" and was motivated by his addiction. The defendant had a background of trauma and deprivation, though he had had periods of steady employment through his life. "Negative impacts have kept coming back to haunt him as the years have gone on," Ms Saunderson-Warner said. Judge David Robinson noted Beale had no previous New Zealand convictions but was deported from Australia after being charged with possessing dangerous drugs. The 52-year-old man tasked with collecting the methamphetamine will appear in court in November.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Craig Smith of Christchurch jailed for raping woman in six-hour sexual violence ordeal
The woman no longer trusted her judgment of others and was scared of leaving her home. 'I wanted to move house. There were times when I saw him, walking past my house, I am aware he knows where I live,' she said in her victim impact statement at Smith's recent sentencing in the Christchurch District Court. 'I was terrified. I was so terrified I couldn't call for help. I suffer from panic attacks and still take medications. 'I am too terrified to carry on, I am socially isolated, I have lost my confidence, lost my sense of self, he has taken something from me that can never be replaced.' The court heard that Craig Smith asked the victim if she was "gonna be like all the girls on Tinder who claim rape". Photo / Nate McKinnon, RNZ Smith, 40, was charged with rape, unlawful sexual connection, indecent assault and assaulting a female. At his sentencing, the court heard the pair had matched on Tinder and gone on two dates, and had engaged in consensual sexual activity. In April 2023, the victim invited Smith to her home, where she lived with her children. The six-hour ordeal They drank wine together and, when the children went to bed, they began to get intimate in the lounge. They then shared some cannabis and moved to the bedroom. But when Smith had trouble getting an erection, the victim told Smith it was late, she was tired, and they should go to sleep. Smith got angry, pacing the room, insisting they should have sex. They tried again but were unsuccessful. He became angrier and started slapping and hitting the victim. She told him to 'stop', but he kept hitting her and insisting they have sex. Smith stopped momentarily, but then threatened to hurt her. After apologising, he then raped her. The sex attack continued for six hours, while she repeatedly told him to 'stop and leave'. He used derogatory and sexist language throughout the ordeal. At one point, he put his hands around her throat. She kicked and screamed and began physically shaking. Again, he apologised and asked her what he could do to make it better. She, again, pleaded for him to leave, but he ignored her. Smith eventually fell asleep, and the victim confronted him the next morning. '[Are you] gonna be like all the girls on Tinder who claim rape,' he said to her. Smith later told police he got drunk and could not recall what happened. 'Your risk is off the charts' In court, Judge Michael Crosbie said he hoped Smith would dwell on the woman's victim impact statement. 'You need treatment, you need to acknowledge what you have done and the impact on the victim,' the judge told him. He said Smith had work to do in terms of what he accepted and what he was hiding behind. He also had concerns about Smith's psychological report. 'I have seen thousands of those reports; your risk is off the charts,' he said. 'The risk assessment is such that this was always going to happen to this woman; that is a clinical assessment. 'You have left an indelible mark on her life, the duration, amount of degradation and violence.' The court heard Smith was abused as a child while in state care, was difficult to control at school, and between the ages of 10 and 14, lived in 20 homes. Judge Crosbie said it was troubling that Smith's abusive experiences became normalised. 'They affected you and at times became catastrophic.' There had been chronic substance abuse and reported violent incidents with other partners. Smith's risk of reoffending was very high. 'Very few sex offenders carry the risk of reoffending that you do,' the judge said. 'I don't want there to be any more victims. I want to be clear that there is nothing that justifies your offending.' Judge Crosbie jailed Smith for six years and six months. Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the past 16 years. Most recently, he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.
