Ethan Dodds and Julius Te Hiva Ka convicted of murdering Ben Mcintosh at West Auckland Park

A repeat offender who shot a small-time Auckland drug dealer while stealing his stash and recent slot machine jackpot was on parole under electronic monitoring at the time of the murder – but had turned off his tracking device.

This element of the June 2022 murder of Benjamin “Dekoy” Mcintosh was highlighted for the first time this week as prosecutors sought a lengthy non-parole period for Ethan Dane Dodds, who returned to the High Court of Auckland for sentencing.

Justice Graham Lang acknowledged that section 104 of the Sentencing Act – requiring a non-parole period of at least 17 years in some of the most egregious murder cases, including those in during a robbery – had been respected. But he ultimately also agreed with Dodds' attorney that imposing such a sentence would be “patently unfair” because the killing, while reckless, was not planned or intentional.

The 25-year-old was instead ordered to serve a life sentence with a minimum period of 12 years before he can begin applying for parole.

Co-accused Julius “Pete East” Te Hiva Ka, who was also convicted of murder but was allegedly unarmed during the robbery, was ordered to serve a life sentence with a minimum term of 10 years of imprisonment.

Mcintosh, 36, was found unconscious and bleeding in his still-running car at Harold Moody Park in Glen Eden on the morning of June 3, 2022, approximately 30 minutes after he was shot. He was taken off life support a few days later.

Te Hiva Ka, a drug addict who sometimes bought drugs from Mcintosh, arranged to meet at the West Auckland reserve under the guise of buying $350 worth of methamphetamine. Dodds, who carried a sawed-off semi-automatic rifle, had never met Mcintosh in person, but had recently spent time with the victim's girlfriend.

On the witness stand, Dodds insisted that the only reason he brought the gun was to scare Mcintosh because of rumors of a previous unrelated incident supposedly involving Mcintosh and Mcintosh's mother. an unidentified friend. The defendant, a Crips gang member known as “Ecep,” admitted that the gun went off while he was holding it in the back seat of Mcintosh's car, causing Mcintosh's death. But he claimed the trigger was pulled by accident and that taking Mcintosh's wallet and stash of drugs was an afterthought as he fled the scene in shock.

“I reject your testimony on this issue, as I am sure the jury does,” Judge Lang said today in considering Dodds' sentence. “I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that you brought the firearm to the park with the intention of using it to frighten Mr. McIntosh into handing over the drugs and money he could have in his possession.”

'Left us all broken'

Today, in a series of victim impact statements, Mcintosh is remembered as someone who lit up a room with his infectious laughter.

“He brought life and joy to everyone he met,” his mother told the court. “His life mattered. It wasn't just a number. He was my son.

In a written statement read aloud by prosecutors, Mcintosh's father described how the killing “broke us all.”

“He was never a violent man,” the father continues. “He had the gift of gab and he preferred to talk his way out of trouble rather than fight.”

Mcintosh was also never one to hold grudges, the father wrote, expressing hope that the defendants would reflect on their actions while serving their sentences and that some good might come of it.

Dodds' lawyer, Annabel Maxwell-Scott, stressed during today's hearing that her client had taken responsibility for causing the death and was remorseful for it. She noted that the single gunshot first passed through Mcintosh's shoulder before exiting his body and entering his head – proof, she said, that the killing was never intentional .

She described Dodds as someone who was marred by an exceptionally dysfunctional upbringing, enough to deserve a reduction in his overall sentence.

“From the age of 9, he (…) had no chance: drugs, alcohol and gang membership before the age of 10,” she said.

The judge agreed. He noted a long list of previous convictions that meant he had spent most of his life either in state care or in prison. He has rarely spent more than three months at a time outside of criminal justice facilities since he was 11 years old.

Judge Lang also acknowledged that Mcintosh's death had not been intentional, even if the shooting itself was. Crown prosecutors Brett Tantrum and Conrad Purdon argued he was guilty of murder because he knew that firing a gun carried a risk of causing death and he took the risk anyway.

“I find it very likely that some form of struggle occurred after you entered Mr. McIntosh's vehicle and pulled out the firearm,” the judge surmised. “At this point, you intentionally fired the firearm in the direction of Mr. McIntosh.”

Dodds, who chewed gum throughout the hearing, left the dock before Te Hiva Ka was brought in so the sentencing process could be repeated. The Crown again requested a non-parole period of 17 years, but this was once again refused.

Defense lawyer Ron Mansfield KC described his client as someone who had a promising talent for rugby league but could not escape the clutches of the methamphetamine addiction that had mired both his parents. The 27-year-old has left a good impression during his time in prison so far, Mansfield said, describing Te Hiva Ka as “a very calm and discreet personality” and “very respectful of others”.

The defense attorney also asked Judge Lang to conclude that a life sentence would be manifestly unfair given his client's lesser culpability and strong prospects for rehabilitation. The judge quickly refused, pointing out his pivotal role in luring Mcintosh to the secluded park that morning.

The greatest anger in the courtroom came following the conviction of the third co-defendant, Tamirah Baker, who was never charged with murder but was convicted at trial of accessory to murder after the fact and illegal possession of the murder weapon.

She dated the victim until his death before beginning a relationship in the following days with Dodds, helping him hide from authorities for five days. The two men were arrested side by side after she led police on a wild chase during which spikes were deployed and their stolen car eventually had to be rammed off the road.

Justice Lang said he was satisfied she would have been the person to inform Dodds and Te Hiva Ka that Mcintosh had just won a lot of money from his slot machine jackpot. He chastised her for a sincere attempt to describe the grief over Mcintosh's death in a recorded interview with police that was later played to jurors. He said her final sentence had to be extended because she was out on bail when she hid with Dodds and knew she had an active warrant for her arrest.

But the judge also recognized – and the Crown acknowledged – that his 18 months on electronically monitored bail while awaiting trial and his four months already in custody required a reduction that would place his sentence in the non-custodial range of freedom. He ordered a final sentence of six months of house arrest.

“Female dog!” a woman shouted in the gallery as she was led from the courtroom.

“Amazing!” shouted another.

A fourth co-defendant who avoided trial after pleading guilty at the last minute was sentenced last month. Donna Dodds, the 61-year-old mother of Ethan Dodds, was sentenced by the same judge to 14 months in prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice. She admitted driving Dodds out of Auckland immediately after the shooting and providing a false alibi to police.

It comes less than 24 hours after she was ordered to intensive supervision for trying to influence witnesses in another investigation involving her son. This time, the judge said, prison was needed to send a stronger message.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has worked on the courts in three newsrooms in the United States and New Zealand since 2002.