Daniel Vae, a 45-year-old with an extensive criminal history, and deemed a “habitual criminal”, faced another prison sentence after the police discovered an assortment of illegal firearms, magazines, and ammunition at his partner’s residence in Blockhouse Bay.
As a seasoned member of the underworld, Vae had his run-ins with the law before. His last one being in Auckland District Court in May of the previous year, he was handed a sentence of two years and 11 months in prison for shooting a crossbow at a woman’s head, barely missing her, and leaving behind the word “snitch” on her front porch.
In the subsequent search conducted this recent August, the police found a semi-automatic Tippman M4-22 rifle concealed in a blanket. Further digging unearthed a concealed sawn-off rifle and 119 rounds of ammunition, some of which were loaded in magazines, concealed in a computer bag.
In court today, Michael Kan, Vae’s defence attorney, pleaded for a non-custodial sentence. He emphasized that Vae had pled guilty promptly and showed remorse for his actions. However, the police prosecutor, Alva Tohovaka-Staples, backed by a probation report, asserted that given Vae’s lengthy criminal history, home detention did not seem fitting.
Judge Debra Bell sided with the prosecutor’s argument and sentenced Vae to 17 months of imprisonment. “Given Mr. Vae’s history, particularly for this type of offending, I am of the opinion he is not suitable for home detention,” she declared.
The origins of Vae’s criminal life trace back to his teenage years when he joined the Crips. He became a full-fledged member of the King Cobras in 2001. While he claims to have cut ties with the gang a decade later, his streak of violent offences persists.
During his earlier sentencing hearing, Vae’s pattern of persistent criminal activities, spanning 44 convictions since 1996, was a matter of sharp criticism from the presiding judge.
Vae, who gained fleeting fame in 2010 for an expletive-riddled outburst against the police on Facebook while serving a prison term for firearm charges, has been deemed a moderate to high risk for recidivating, according to a recent probation report.
The discovery of the firearms came as a part of an investigation into “straw buyers,” license holders purchasing weapons supposedly on behalf of criminals. Charges have also been brought against another individual appearing to have acted as a straw buyer.
Describing his latest legal entanglement, Vae called it the outcome of a “stupid” decision. He further admitted to the court, “…his friend was cruising around with firearms in the car and he tried to help him,” and that he was “still making poor decisions.”
Vae has been in police custody since his latest arrest three months ago. As the judge pronounced his prison sentence, he flashed a smile at the family members present in court to support him. The gathering exited the court quietly, leaving Vae behind, destined once again for a prison term for his illicit collection of firearms.
