'There is no future in this': Judge's warning to Hapai Otene months before he was shot dead by police

Court documents reveal the criminal history of a man fatally shot by police as he carried a stolen air rifle while approaching Auckland's Sylvia Park. National Crime Correspondent Sam Sherwood reports.

Shortly before wrapping up sentencing Auckland District Court Judge Steve Bonnar addressed the man before him in the dock.

"I just leave you with this... I hope you are genuine in saying you want to change your life and you want to be a good dad to your kids, because there is no future in this."

The man, a man fatally shot by police Hapai Otene, had pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1500 worth of goods from Rebel Sport in Mount Roskill. The judge noted he had 30 convictions dating from 2011 to 2021. He had also twice been ordered to serve four-year prison sentences for aggravated robbery.

"If you do not get off this cycle of offending, you are just going to keep coming back, keep spending more and more time either remanded in custody or serving sentence. You are still a young man. I do not think that is in anyone's interests long term.

"So, take whatever help you can get from Probation and, hopefully, we will not see you back."

Less than 100 days later, Otene was dead, shot by police as he approached Auckland's Sylvia Park carrying a stolen air rifle.

Court documents obtained by RNZ reveal the extent of his prior criminal offending, as well as his battles with drug addiction that began at 15.

'You have been using meth since you were 15'

Otene was jailed for four years in 2023 by Judge David McNaughton on a series of charges including theft, aggravated robbery, unlawful possession of firearms and unlawful possession of an airgun.

Court documents say that in December 2020, while on EM bail, he stole a pair of shoes from Rebel Sports.

Then, five days later, while on another approved absence, he and an associate drove to Cash Converters.

Otene parked out front with the engine running while his associate got out of the car holding a long barrelled firearm which he presented to the manager, threatening to shoot her if she did not open the jewellery drawers at the front counter.

The associate then took several drawers containing jewellery, worth about $90,000, and emptied it into a bag and they took off.

Later that month, Otene was trying to sell a shotgun on Facebook to two associates.

The court document says he sent a number of photographs and videos, one of which showed the shotgun being fired at a beach.

Police searched a property in Manurewa and found a shotgun cartridge under his bed, a single barrelled black airgun under a gazebo in the backyard, airgun pellets on top of a set of drawers and the car linked to the robbery.

The other charges he was sentenced for included a burglary at a property in Mount Wellington. After the incident, Police searched his property and found a high powered .308 rifle in a closet in his bedroom.

Judge McNaughton said Otene had convictions for burglary going back to 2011, and had been jailed for four years and six months in 2015 for aggravated robbery.

A probation report said Otene claimed he carried out the offending to provide money for his methamphetamine addiction which was costing him about $6000 a week.

"You have been using meth since you were 15," Judge McNaughton said.

"You say the majority of your offending was to support your drug addiction."

The judge also said Otene was affiliated to the Killer Beez gang.

The probation officer said the father-of-five showed no remorse, adding that Otene was a "high risk of further re-offending and that there is little motivation to change".

Otene's partner, who he had been with since he was 15, wrote a letter which suggested he never had a stable family.

"She describes you as a devoted father and a hard worker who one day hopes to pursue a dream of owning a construction business."

Otene's sister also wrote a letter, in which she confirmed his struggles with drug addiction.

Judge McNaughton said that by the time Otene reached intermediate he was in a youth gang, smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol.

"By 16 you were addicted to methamphetamine and committing crimes to sustain your addiction."

The judge sentenced him to four years' imprisonment.

Final sentencing

Otene was released on parole in March 2025. Among his conditions was that he was not to enter any Rebel Sports or Cash Converters without the prior approval of a probation officer.

On October 7, he went to the Mount Roskill Rebel Sport and selected multiple items of clothing worth about $1500 before walking out without paying.

The clothing was never recovered.

Otene told police he was just trying to get some clothes as he didn't have any.

Judge Bonnar KC referred to Otene's criminal history, as well as a probation officer's report.

"The probation officer thinks that the things which contribute to your offending are your attitudes generally and a sense of entitlement.

"You told the probation officer you were taking what you needed."

Otene's risk of re-offending was assessed as being at a high level, however his risk of causing harm was at a medium level.

"There should be no misunderstanding about that though," Judge Bonnar KC said.

"That is not to suggest that theft from retail stores does not cause harm. It does. The rest of us, taxpayers, normal customers, all end up paying more for goods because of the significant amount of theft that goes on from retail shops."

The probation officer recommended a sentence of community detention, potentially combined with supervision. Judge Bonnar KC said everyone agreed it was the appropriate sentence.

The judge said Otene continued to suffer from methamphetamine and cannabis use disorder.

He sentenced him to four months' community attention with six months' supervision.

Otene was back in court in July on a charge of taking a Subaru legacy.

Community detention and supervision

In response to questions from RNZ, Corrections director of communities, partnerships and pathways Simon Chaplin earlier confirmed Otene was subject to community detention and supervision.

"Their community sentence included a 7pm-7am curfew where electronic monitoring was used to verify that they were at their home address during the hours of this curfew. They were not in breach of this curfew at the time the Sylvia Park incident occurred."

Corrections was reviewing its involvement with Otene.

"It would not be appropriate for us to provide further information while this and the police reviews are ongoing."

According to Corrections' website community detention is a "punitive sentence that restricts an offender's movements during their curfew". The offenders are subject to electronic monitoring and/or GPS, and they must wear an anklet at all times during their sentence.

"It requires an offender to remain at an approved residence at certain times specified by the court. This is known as the offender's curfew.

"Electronic monitoring equipment is installed at the offender's address and their compliance with their curfew is electronically monitored for the duration of the sentence."

The shooting

Auckland City District Commander Superintendent Sunny Patel earlier said police had received information about the theft of an air rifle from Gun City in Penrose around 2pm on August 13.

Police vehicles and the Eagle helicopter were dispatched to the area, locating the car near Sylvia Park.

Spikes were successfully deployed but the car continued towards Mount Wellington Highway, still being driven in an erratic manner, Patel said.

Police confronted Otene underneath an overpass as he approached the entrance of Sylvia Park, still carrying the air rifle. He was then shot by police.

Patel confirmed police were carrying out a critical incident investigation. He also confirmed the IPCA had been notified and would be carrying out its own investigation.

He said it was not known whether the air rifle was loaded, or whether Otene had any ammunition.

Patel was not aware of how many times Otene was shot, whether there had been any attempt to detain him or whether he had aimed the weapon at anyone.

The decision to shoot rested with the officer at the scene, and no clearance was required, he said.

The police investigation would look into what happened at the store, but it was concerning Otene was able to steal a weapon, Patel said.