Deported from Oz, back in court in NZ: Former Kiwi child actor's fall from grace. Video / NZ Herald, South Pacific Pictures
A man was back in court on Monday after he was charged in connection with the alleged hit-and-run death of former Kiwi child star Lionel “Doeboy” Allan.
Allan, 39, was found on The Concourse in the Auckland suburb of Henderson about 8pm on Friday, September 30 after he was struck by a vehicle and suffered critical injuries.
Wiremu Gray, 42, faces a charge of failing to stop and ascertain whether any person has been injured and render assistance, and another charge of careless driving causing death.
He made his second appearance in the Waitakere District Court on Monday afternoon, represented by specialist traffic and drink drive defence lawyer Alistair Haskett, before Judge Terence Singh.
Extra security was in court as a large number of supporters wearing T-shirts emblazoned “West in Peace Doeboy” and his photo packed the public gallery.
Some in the public gallery were upset and expressed disappointment when Gray appeared via audio-visual link, rather than in person.
Haskett again did not enter a plea, asking for more time because he was yet to receive documents including the report from the police serious crash unit.
Gray did not seek name suppression in his brief first appearance before a registrar earlier in October and did not speak at either hearing.
However, Haskett sought and was granted suppression of Gray’s address and occupation.
He was again remanded on bail ahead of his next appearance in December.
Judge Singh expressed his condolences to those in the public gallery for the loss of Allan.
Lionel Allan, known as Lionel Wickliffe in his acting days, played Matt Te Ahi in Being Eve. Photo / Supplied
The charge of failing to stop carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison or a $20,000 fine. His bail conditions were to reside at his home and not to associate with the victim’s family.
Allan, who was known by Lionel Wickliffe during his acting days, and the long-standing nickname Doeboy, had a recurring role character, Matt Te Ahi, in TV3 teen drama Being Eve from 2001 to 2002.
Before that he had also chalked up an appearance on Hercules.
A family member, who did not want to be named, told the Herald Allan had left his troubled past behind him.
“He was a devoted dad and a good husband,” the family member said.
Lionel Allan with his partner and their two children in February 2022. Photo / Supplied
His mother flew over from Australia for the funeral, held a week after his death.
“He was a good kid growing up,” the family member said.
Allan moved across the ditch in 2005 to find work but later fell in with a bad crowd and was repeatedly arrested and later convicted of assault, receiving a prison term.
He was set to be deported after release but successfully lobbied the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Australia for a second chance in 2016.
His wife, young child, mother and two sisters were living in Australia, the tribunal noted.
But in 2017, Australian television programme A Current Affair ran a controversial story promising to reveal the “savage thugs” and “cretins” who had managed to avoid deportation after feeding the tribunal “sob stories” and “porkies”.
His house was raided and he was put into immigration detention after the story aired.
Allan’s supporters believed the segment prompted then-Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, who had the power to overturn tribunal decisions, to personally take an interest in his case. Allan’s employer at the time, Julia Sampo, was among those who were incensed.
“At work, he displayed leadership qualities and was making his way to becoming a team leader, running his own job site and focusing on progressing his career,” Sampo, who ran a construction company with her husband, wrote on social media shortly after the segment aired.
“Lionel was present in the life of his young baby, providing for his wife and making something of himself so that he could use his story to lead others in the right direction.
“As these events unfolded, I couldn’t help but feel that this programme fuelled a witch-hunt based on assumption, disguised by the notion of patriotism, pulling on the heartstrings of fellow Australians.”
Earlier this year, he appeared in the Auckland District Court for sentencing after a drug relapse resulting in a cluster of new burglary and theft charges.
At the hearing in April, Judge David Sharp pointed to another supportive letter, this time from Allan’s new employer.
As part of Allan’s community supervision sentence, he was allowed to leave his home during work hours so he could continue to earn for his family and pay $50 per fortnight in restitution to his latest victims.
He was ordered to pay $1500 for a trailer that was stolen and $300 for damage he caused to a Volvo. Other arrests, including an attempted theft from a store in which he was caught red-handed and the casing of a residence in which he was shown on CCTV looking through windows and trying to open doors, did not ultimately result in any financial gain, the judge noted.
“There’s some real positive aspects of your life that you’re able to point to,” Sharp added.
“You’re someone who has the potential to make a consistent and long-term recovery.”
But he also noted that Allan again sat on a razor’s edge and could have ended up going “through that other door” of the courtroom that leads to a holding cell, then prison.
Allan spoke to the Herald outside court after sentencing.
His wife, who lost her job after his “face was plastered all over the TV” in Australia, had since moved to New Zealand with their child to be with him. He wanted to be a better person for them, he said.
“I suffer addiction badly. I’m an addict and a petty thief,” he said.
“I just want to be an old man with kids and get on with my life.”
A friend of Allan’s who was in court told the Herald: “W just want to see justice for Lionel.
