Man jailed after home invasion where victim was shot in eye

A man has been jailed after admitting his involvement in a shooting that left a man deaf.

Heston Salt​, who was not the shooter, took part in a home invasion in Auckland’s Mt Roskill that left three people seriously injured.

He was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison by Justice Geoffrey Venning at the High Court at Auckland on Thursday after admitting three charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

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Salt was the only offender who was identified following the incident.

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Justice Venning said shootings in Auckland had become an almost daily occurrence and were a scourge on the community.

Three men were shot in February 2020 at a house in Mt Roskill.

Salt had chosen to put the needs of a gang before the needs of his family, Justice Venning said.

On a morning in February 2020, Salt and three others drove to a house in Mt Roskill.

Salt had come from the Hells Angels gang pad after receiving a text from an unknown number, saying: “Who is available URGENT!!!”

Three people entered the house. The two men with Salt were armed with a rifle and a shotgun.

Cameras captured four men in a black SUV arriving at Marion Ave, Mt Roskill, moments before the shooting.

Resident Talaki Finau saw the armed men walk into the laundry and told another resident, Ta’aloitupe Eliu, to hide herself in a cupboard.

One of the intruders shot Finau. The bullet penetrated his right eye and lodged in his brain.

Salt and the other two intruders ran out of the house and back into the car, where the fourth associate was waiting to drive off.

On Thursday, Crown prosecutor Sam McMullan submitted while Salt was not the shooter, he was involved in the planning and must have appreciated what the other two men were going to do with the loaded guns.

A national operation targeting gangs is having a "significant impact", Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says. (First published September 2021)

Salt’s lawyer, Emma Priest, said Salt was the only offender who had been identified.

The court heard his childhood was dysfunctional, he was exposed to violence and began using drugs and alcohol early. This led him to seeking belonging with anti-social groups.

“If he wasn’t heavily intoxicated that night, he wouldn’t have got involved in the offending,” Priest said.

He’d been unable to see his children for 15 months due to Covid-19 restrictions and his security classification in prison, which was disproportionate, Priest said.