A convicted killer awaiting sentence was mistakenly released from custody in Auckland after he appeared in a separate court on a minor charge. 

His brief foray of freedom after a Manukau District Court administrative bungle yesterday ended when he was found by police and willingly returned to custody after a few hours. 

The incident comes a day after another man was mistakenly released from custody at the Dunedin District Court. 

Maui Warahi, aka Jay Maui Wallace, is awaiting sentencing in the Auckland High Court after earlier this year admitting the manslaughter of a 60-year-old man in Manurewa on April 17 last year. 

The victim died in hospital after suffering serious head injuries. 

Wallace appeared on another, minor charge in the Manukau District Court yesterday and was convicted and discharged, his lawyer Ina Stewart confirmed. 

But instead of being remanded back in custody he was released by court staff. 

He went to one of his usual haunts and was picked up without incident by police a few hours later, it is understood. 

There is no suggestion Wallace engineered his release or made any attempt to evade authorities during his brief moment of freedom. 

“It is concerning that there is so little checks and balances,” Stewart said. 

Maui Warahi, aka Jay Maui Wallace, is set to appear in the Auckland High Court in November for sentence after admitting a manslaughter charge. 

It appears the fact he was meant to be remanded back in custody was not communicated by the registry to the court security staff, but it remains unclear where the error lies. 

Wallace has a history of claiming he is unlawfully in custody because, he contends, he is not who authorities say he is. 

In 2022, the Court of Appeal rejected his claim that he had been unlawfully detained, following a similar 2016 application to the High Court. 

His beliefs shared similarities with those of the Sovereign Citizen movement, whose proponents claim individuals have legal or “corporate” personalities alongside their flesh and blood personas, among other beliefs. 

The Herald has sought comment from the Ministry of Justice on whether there is any link to the mistaken release from custody of a man from the Dunedin District Court on Tuesday, whether any other people around the country have been mistakenly released today, and whether there was a broader systemic issue behind the mistaken releases. Police have also been contacted for comment. 

The Otago Daily Times reported a 32-year-old was arrested on Tuesday after taking a bus from Dunedin to Waikouaiti after his mistaken release.