Two men who murdered a man who “narked” on a Mongrel Mob boss have been given lengthy jail terms without a chance of parole, as a deterrent to others who might try to undermine the justice system.

Quayde Richard Dean Hulbert, 30, and Billy Tama Rielly, 22, have been given mandatory life prison sentences for what a judge called the “premeditated execution” of Hulbert’s childhood friend Eli Johnson.

In the High Court at Rotorua, Justice Francis Cooke imposed hefty periods for the charges of murder: 18 years for Hulbert and 17 years for Rielly.

One of the aggravating features which prompted Justice Cooke to impose the longer non-parole periods was the murderers’ motive.

A jury earlier heard how Johnson was killed in retribution for giving evidence in a drugs trial against Adrian Rewiri, the captain of the Mongrel Mob’s Aotearoa Tauranga chapter.

Adrian John Rewiri was the captain of the Mongrel Mob's Aotearoa Tauranga chapter. Photo / NZME

“To kill someone because they have given truthful evidence, and failed to give untruthful evidence, in a court of law is a matter that will be responded to by the court, given that it involves undermining the criminal justice system,” Justice Cooke said.

“There is a strong need for deterrence, and denunciation for a killing of that kind.”

A trial in Hamilton in February was told that Hulbert was a Mongrel Mob member and Rielly was his prospect when they went together to stab Johnson at his Whakamarama, Bay of Plenty home on the night of June 12, 2022.

Johnson had earlier told his mother he was a “dead man” after he gave evidence against Rewiri in a drugs trial.

In March 2021, Rewiri was found not guilty of the drug offending but guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice - a charge that arose because he had earlier pressured Johnson to take the blame for the drug charge.

“The fact that Mr Johnson had effectively provided evidence against Mr Rewiri was the motivation for your offending,” Justice Cooke told Hulbert and Rielly in sentencing them.

“Giving such evidence against a Mongrel Mob member, particularly the captain of the chapter, is contrary to the expectations of the Mongrel Mob,” he said.

The judge said Hulbert and Rielly were the two who “undertook the expected response” by implementing a plan to kill Johnson.

Hulbert made contact with Johnson the week before the murder. Because they had been childhood friends, this was easy to do.

Hulbert and Rielly pretended they had an issue with a damaged car which they needed Johnson to help with and went to his property.

“The reason for doing so was not to get help with the car, but to work out how you would go about killing him,” Justice Cooke said.

Murder plan carefully worked out

The plan for the night of June 12 was carefully worked out.

The pair drove from Rotorua to Whakamarama and parked a short distance from the property where Johnson lived in a sleepout. They then proceeded on foot.

They surprised Johnson in his shed and helped each other to stab him 13 times. His body was penetrated nine times and several of the wounds would have been fatal.

Two knives were used.

The two murderers then left, returned to the car and later burned the clothes they had been wearing.

Johnson did not die immediately. He managed to get to an aunt’s house nearby and died a short time later.

Police at the scene of the investigation into the death of Eli Johnson. Photo / Mead Norton.

Mother, aunt, uncle, brother present at death

“The repercussions of your actions not only took the life of Mr Johnson but have significantly affected his whānau,” Justice Cooke said.

“His aunt, mother, uncle and brother were present as he died and they have had to deal with the implications of his death.”

A person sentenced to life in prison for murder must serve at least 10 years, but section 104 of the Sentencing Act provides that a non-parole period of 17 years must be imposed if certain aggravating factors are involved.

In this case, Justice Cooke listed several of these.

These included the careful planning of the murder, the home invasion at night, the use of weapons, the killers’ gang connections, and the motive of retribution for giving evidence against the Mongrel Mob captain.

“This was a premeditated execution because Mr Johnson had given truthful evidence against a leader of the Mongrel Mob,” Justice Cooke said.

One of the reasons Hulbert got the longer non-parole period was because he was already a Mongrel Mob member, and Rielly was a prospect.

Both were given one-year reductions from 19 and 18 years respectively after the judge reviewed their personal circumstances.

A psychiatric report said Hulbert met his father only twice, when he was 7 and 16, and on both occasions, the father showed his son his guns.

He was exposed to violence from family members, and the psychiatrist was of the view that Hulbert suffered from undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. He was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 3 and was considered unfit for mainstream schooling.

“You have had a very hard life, and your entry into the gang is perhaps characteristic of the path taken by some Māori men as a consequence of deprivation, and social and cultural dislocation,” Justice Cooke said.

“But you have nevertheless made choices of your own and must live with the consequences.”

Rielly was removed from his mother’s care at 4 years old, and his time in state care was “traumatic”, the judge said.

He had a dysfunctional relationship with his father, who has recently died, and grew up around gang culture.

Before being taken into custody, Rielly was using methamphetamine daily and his previous convictions suggested a propensity for violence.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.