Gangland killer set to be released
A gangland murderer who conspired to deal methamphetamine while in prison is set to be released.
Dean Waka Nathan, 54, was granted parole after a hearing on May 29. The Parole Board, in a decision released to Stuff this week, said Nathan was no longer a risk and set his release for August 17 to an undisclosed residence.
In 2001, Nathan, then a senior Highway 61 gang member, was sentenced along with three other men to life imprisonment for the killing of rival Black Power member Max Shannon in August, 2000 in Christchurch. Shannon, 25, had just finished rugby league practice and was sitting in his car in Silvester St, Woolston, when he was gunned down.
While serving his sentence, Nathan used an unauthorised cellphone to set up a methamphetamine dealing operation from prison. He organised large purchases of meth in Auckland and arranged for them to be moved to Christchurch for distribution, with up to 2 kilograms of the drug supplied. He was convicted in 2010.
In August last year he was denied parole after completing the special treatment unit rehabilitation programme the previous year. A Parole Board decision at the time said he was still at high risk of reoffending both in general re-offending and violence.
He was granted parole after being in self care and working in a situation that involved him being ‘‘in sole charge as a trusted offender’’, the board said.
He would be under curfew, required to report regularly to a probation officer, wear an electronic bracelet, not communicate with any victims, members or associates of his previous gang and not consume drugs or alcohol along with other special conditions for five years.
The board cited a number of factors in the decision to release him, including his completion of a drug treatment programme (DTP) earlier this year and his mentorship of younger men in the programme. It also referenced his retirement from the Highway 61 gang ‘‘many years ago now’’. He was to be moved straight to an undisclosed location where he has ‘‘significant support’’.
His situation will be reviewed at a monitoring hearing in February next year.