Auckland crossbow case: Judge orders prison for shooter Daniel Vae

Authorities said Daniel Vae fired a crossbow at a woman, narrowly missing her. Photo / Thinkstock

A man with a lengthy history of domestic abuse was sent to prison today after he shot a crossbow at woman's head, barely missing her, then painted the word "snitch" outside her home.

Auckland District Court Judge Brooke Gibson ordered Daniel Vae, 44, to serve two years and 11 months' prison for two representative charges of attempting to pervert justice. He was given concurrent sentences for multiple other charges, including assault with a weapon, willful damage, possession of methamphetamine and illegally possessing a weapon.

Other charges were dropped, the court noted, after the woman he shot at became a hostile witness - declining to participate in the prosecution.

"While you were in custody, you made a concerted effort over a number of months to try to dissuade the complainant from appearing in court," Judge Gibson noted, adding that Vae has an "extensive criminal history" consisting of 44 convictions.

"You have been offending since 1996 and could really be described as a habitual criminal ... What is concerning is that the complainant has been the complainant in a number of charges previously."

Daniel Vae's sentencing took place today in Auckland District Court. Photo / NZME

Authorities have said Vae shot the crossbow at the woman in June 2019, with the arrow narrowly missing and lodging in a wall. He was also accused of having punched the woman on the same day.

Two months later, authorities alleged, Vae drugged the woman and locked her in his garage. While she was held captive, police said, he went to her house and painted the word "snitch" on a fence in letters large enough to be seen from the street.

After responding to the woman's 111 call, police searched Vae's home and found the crossbow, methamphetamine, an M44 airsoft rifle and ammunition for the rifle.

Vae was initially charged with eight counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following a series of calls he made to the complainant while held at Mount Eden Prison. Each charge carries a maximum punishment of seven years' prison.

He was previously convicted of an attack on the same woman in 2010 in which she was hospitalised after he beat her with a machete handle and threw a firearm at her. He was convicted again in 2018 after hiding in the bushes outside the same woman's home.

He threw a pistol at her when she emerged from the house, yelling, "Run, bitch, run." The firearm hit her in the chin.

Although the woman declined to co-operate with prosecutors, she did speak to police when they arrived at the garage where she was allegedly being held captive in 2019. She described a history of abuse that also included allegations he burnt her hair with a torch and punched her genitals so hard she was unable to walk for several days.

She also signed a statement that day describing the most recent allegations along with other incidents, including threats to cut her face and one time she said he stabbed a knife into a couch near her leg.

Vae wore a white T-shirt as he appeared in court today. He gave a quick wave to several supporters as he was escorted out of the courtroom and back to jail.