No parole for meth ring prisoner
A prisoner who ran a methamphetamine ring from prison, using his mother – a Justice of the Peace – as a financier, is closing in on his 20th year behind bars.
But he is finally making significant progress and could be released in May.
Brian Paul Taylor has been an inmate since 2003, when he was sentenced to two years and three months’ jail for relatively minor offending.
His jail time has since out for a range of crimes, including a violent spree involving shooting a man in the leg, breaking into a Mongrel Mob member’s home, beating them and stealing their patch.
He also took part in the 2003 revenge shooting of then-acting Mob president Sovite Su’a over the death of teenage Black Power affiliate Wallace Whatuira. His latest offending occurred in 2016 when despite being an inmate at Manawatū Prison, he ran a methamphetamine ring. He had been clean from drugs since 1995 and ran the ring purely for profit.
Taylor’s mother Marlene provided finance, and was stripped of her title as a Justice of the Peace after becoming what some dubbed a ‘justice of the P’.
Zion Cody Kingston Pene was the primary pusher of product outside prison.
All three were jailed for their involvement, but Taylor is the only one still behind bars.
He was considered for parole last month but was declined an early release.
According to a Parole Board report released to Stuff, Taylor’s time in prison has been anything but smooth, with multiple misconducts, segregation and a psychologist ranking him as being at extremely high risk of reoffending.
But things have changed recently, with his security classification being reduced and him taking up reintegration activities.
His five escorted visits to the world outside prison had gone well and he had managed tomemorise his safety plan for his eventual release by turning it into a poem.
He told the board he left Black Power in 2008, no longer had to prove himself to anyone and was focused on family.
The Parole Board approved of his changes, but noted all the positives happened within a year.
Those changes needed time to bed in, and an impending lowering of his security classification to minimum was a good chance for him to demonstrate his newfound attitude in a less secure environment, the board said.
‘‘His very long term of imprisonment requires both a gradual process of reintegration and testing and consolidating the skills and experience gained through treatment that are necessary for a safe return to the community.
‘‘We cannot predict that point will be reached before the end of his sentence.’’
Taylor will next be considered for parole inMay.