Man tried to hire hitman to kill a person close to him for $300

A man tried to get a gang member to kill someone close to him. Photo / Michael Craig

A man paid a hitman $300 to kill a person close to him who didn't get on with his wife.

But when told it would cost a lot more, he realised his "stupidity and foolishness" and dropped the plan.

Kevin Tram pleaded guilty this morning in the High Court at Auckland to one charge of attempting to procure murder.

Justice Neil Campbell convicted the young man, who was neatly dressed in a shirt and navy jacket as he stood in the dock.

He faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in jail for the charge.

Court documents show Tram offered a patched member of the Black Power gang some "hard and fast money" to make the person "disappear".

The identity of the victim and their relation to Tram is suppressed.

Tram had told police his wife and the person did not get along and he was going through "dark times". He admitted thinking that if he "took one out of the equation that might solve the problem".

At a party one night in August 2020, Tram approached the patched gang member and asked if he wanted to make some money, offering him $300 to "do someone over".

The gang member thought Tram wanted him to "smash someone" or give the person "a hiding", but eventually understood Tram wanted the person killed.

Later the same month, Tram drove the prospective hitman to the person's house and showed him the property from the outside, explaining where the victim lived. That evening, he withdrew cash and paid $300.

Tram told police he chose the man because he was a gang member and he didn't know anyone else with a criminal record.

The $300 was merely a deposit and the gang member asked for another $1500 to $2000 as a first instalment for the job, Tram said.

That was when he realised his "stupidity and foolishness", and that it would "cost a lot" to have the person killed. He told the prospective hitman he no longer wanted to go ahead with the plan.

He denied paying the $300 as a deposit and claimed it was intended as an apology - to give the gang member "something for his troubles" for not going through with the arrangement.

The plan was exposed when the gang member reported it to the police in 2021 while in custody, after hearing from an associate that the intended victim was someone close to Tram.

"I agreed with him to do it, but I never actually intended to do it," the gang member said.

Tram told police his relationship with the person had now improved and he no longer wanted to have the person killed.

This is his first conviction and he was remanded on bail until sentencing in November.