A Mongrel Mob member being sentenced for murder yelled "I didn't do that" and "I've been framed" at the High Court in Wellington.
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Warren Pay was found guilty of murdering 29-year-old Faapaia Fonoilaepa in Taita, north of Wellington, in 2018.
Pay armed himself with weapons and stabbed Fonoilaepa during an altercation before leaving the scene in a vehicle.
In the High Court in Wellington on Friday, Pay was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.
Early into his sentencing, Justice Cull stood the matter down briefly after Pay started yelling "I didn't do that ... I've been framed ... I'm missing out on my family".
When he reappeared, Pay stood silently and as he was escorted from the courtroom, looked at his mother and said: "Love you mum."
Justice Cull said Pay had 25 previous convictions, most of them for drugs.
She addressed Fonoilaepa's family and said they'd lost a partner and father.
She also read out parts of a letter Pay had written, saying he was remorseful and sorry to the victim's family.
Pay's family were visibly upset after the verdict. His mother had to leave the court early as she wept.