A violent Bay of Plenty gang member who fired at police and held a man hostage during a two-hour standoff has had his sentence increased after Crown lawyers argued it was far too lenient.
Jade Raymond Mellow’s prison term has been lifted to seven years, with a minimum non-parole period of three and a half years. The Court of Appeal added 15 months to his sentence after ruling the discounts he initially received were “unduly generous.”
Mellow, then 31, unleashed chaos in April 2024 after a three-day meth binge, firing a cut-down rifle at officers near Edgecumbe before storming homes, assaulting a 74-year-old man, and threatening to shoot both him and a neighbour. He told police at the scene, “I’ve got a hostage here,” before surrendering.
In February, the Whakatāne District Court sentenced him to five years and nine months after reducing a potential 12.5-year term. Judge Melinda Mason gave him credit for guilty pleas, his troubled background, addiction, and remorse.
But Crown counsel Ben Thompson successfully appealed, arguing the sentence downplayed the severity of Mellow’s crimes and failed to protect the public. He said addiction could not be a mitigating factor since it involved voluntary drug use, and that remorse and claims of leaving the Mongrel Mob were unproven.
The court agreed, imposing a longer term and requiring Mellow to serve at least half before parole eligibility.
— New Zealand Herald
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