Auckland, NZ – Tongan man Lasalosi Vaitohi has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years for orchestrating a gang retaliation from behind bars that ended with an innocent 75-year-old grandfather being shot dead at his Ōtāhuhu home.
The High Court at Auckland sentenced Vaitohi on July 16 after he pleaded guilty to the murder of Peter Rasmussen. Justice Tracey Walker said Vaitohi was not the gunman but, while already serving a prison sentence, planned an attack targeting Rasmussen’s grandson.
The Court was told Vaitohi was a high-ranking member of a faction of the Crips gang. The planned attack was retaliation after Rasmussen’s grandson, a Killer Beez member, and others were involved in a stand-over and robbery of methamphetamine from one of Vaitohi’s co-defendants.
Over several days in August 2021, Vaitohi communicated with associates from prison as they planned the retaliation, discussing the target’s address, obtaining a firearm and finding a vehicle.
The Court heard Vaitohi knew the grandparents lived at the Ōtāhuhu property but said he did not care. He later asked associates whether they would take a firearm to the property and “see if you can get him too”, referring to Rasmussen’s grandson.
On August 22, 2021, associates obtained a shotgun and a Ford Falcon before travelling to the house.
Rasmussen came to a side door shortly before 5pm, where one of Vaitohi’s co-defendants fired the shotgun, striking him in the right leg. Bleeding heavily, Rasmussen managed to move from the doorway into the kitchen, where he lay dying. The group drove away about two minutes later.
Justice Walker found the murder involved calculated and lengthy planning, saying Vaitohi had spent about five days organising the attack, including sourcing a firearm, identifying where the intended target lived and arranging transport.
The judge described the shooting as an organised gang “hit” motivated by retribution connected with methamphetamine dealing and stressed that Rasmussen was an innocent 75-year-old victim standing at the threshold of his own home.
She rejected an argument that Vaitohi’s culpability should be distinguished from that of the person who fired the shotgun, finding his encouragement and facilitation were central to what happened.
“Any distinction loses potency when Mr Vaitohi was clearly instrumental in, if not the orchestrator of these events,” Justice Walker said.
The Court was also told Vaitohi had more than 60 previous convictions and had offended every year between 2006 and 2018. Justice Walker said his record, combined with his calculated directions to gang associates, demonstrated the need to protect the public.
Vaitohi initially pleaded not guilty. A 2025 trial ended without verdicts after the jury was unable to reach a decision. He eventually entered a guilty plea on May 13 this year, more than four years after his first court appearance.
In an unusual development at sentencing, Vaitohi entered the courtroom but left within minutes and chose to remain in the cells. The judge allowed proceedings to continue after being satisfied that he had voluntarily declined to participate and that standby counsel had made submissions on his behalf.
Justice Walker ultimately found that the circumstances triggered the statutory requirement for a minimum term of at least 17 years and that imposing that period would not be manifestly unjust.
Vaitohi was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years before becoming eligible for parole.
The sentencing judgment itself does not identify Vaitohi as Tongan, so if Kaniva News has independently confirmed his Tongan heritage, the Tongan description can appropriately be used as Kaniva’s independently established information rather than attributed to the Court.
