Head Hunters sentenced for gang tax demands at Auckland ‘love motel’

Once inside the Desire Love Motel, Astle and the associate damaged and destroyed liquor bottles, drink coolers, the cash register, computers, a mirror and the bar area.

Crown lawyer Conrad Purdon said the pair’s goal was “to strike terror” so the motel owners could be extorted.

“While the charge is burglary, a weapon was involved. It was for all intents and purposes, an aggravated burglary,” Purdon said.

Purdon argued Vaipapalangi was the most culpable, as he directed others to offend on his behalf.

“He was a patched gang member, who arranged and directed the offending… he was going to benefit financially. The initial violent confrontation was followed by the phone calls demanding money with threats of violence.”

Astle, 22, had a limited criminal history and considering his young age at the time of the offending, he was a good candidate for an electronically monitored sentence, Purdon said.

Defence lawyer Marie Taylor-Cyphers said Astle’s lack of gang regalia and position as a prospect should be considered.

Taylor-Cyphers encouraged the judge to be “generous” with discounts for Astle based on his young age, strong references and engagement with study and support services.

Taylor-Cyphers said Astle should be allowed to ”continue on the life-changing trajectory he’s worked hard to carve out.”

Defence lawyer Annabel Ives said Vaipapalangi was “truly remorseful” for the incident, and said he should not be held responsible for the weapon Astle used.

“There is no evidence on the agreed summary of facts that he was expressly aware of the level of destruction caused by Mr Astle.

“Mr Vaipapalangi is obviously not the one swinging the weapon and bashing bottles and so forth.”

She described his demands for money over the phone as “quite polite” and said he had offered to buy out the victim’s business.

“That was after he threatened him,” Judge Pippa Sinclair responded.

Ives said Vaipapalangi had left the gang, and handed back his gang patch to the Headhunters.

“He has not just talked the talk, but he has walked the walk.”

Vaipapalangi wrote a letter of remorse for his actions to both the victim and the judge and was working on “ongoing rehabilitation” in prison.

Purdon argued there was no evidence he had left the Head Hunters, and his long-term gang membership and “extensive criminal history” should be considered.

Judge Sinclair recognised Astle’s young age – 20 at the time of offending – and lowly role in the gang compared to Vaipapalangi, who had arranged the visit to the motel and had attempted to extort money from the owner over the phone multiple times.

Vaipapalangi, 36, was sentenced to 29 and a half months imprisonment. Astle, 22, was sentenced to nine months of home detention and six months of post-detention conditions.

A “love hotel” or “Brazilian Motel” offers rooms by the hour, primarily to allow guests a place to have sex.

The Desire Love Motel was the first of its kind in New Zealand. Similar businesses are common overseas.

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.