John Logo and Andrew Fauzia jailed for drug offenses uncovered during the investigation into the murder of Adrian Selwyn

The discovery of Selwyn’s body at an Auckland Newmarket motel last year was initially a mystery. But investigators quickly pieced together a theory after reviewing surveillance footage from the motel parking lot from about a week earlier.

Selwyn asked to purchase methamphetamine from Logos, who was recorded arriving at the motel in his orange Mazda Demio around 8:00 pm on March 7, 2023. About 15 minutes later, Selwyn contacted Logos and complained about the poor quality of the drug. Logo responded by offering to fight “one on one,” picking up the Fauzia brothers before returning to the motel, court documents say.

“Come out,” they wrote to Selwyn when the trio arrived.

“Mr. Selwyn approached Mr. Logo, leaving approximately one meter of distance between them,” court documents state. “Mr. Logo quickly assumed a fighting stance and clenched his hands into fists. “Mr Selwyn stood with his arms at his sides and the footage does not appear to indicate that he intended to fight Mr Logo.”

But a few seconds after the conversation between Logos and Selwyn, the youngest of the Fauzia brothers kicked Selwyn in the head.

“Mr. Selvin, who did not see or anticipate the attack and therefore did nothing to protect himself, immediately lost consciousness and fell backward, striking the back of his head on the pavement,” the documents state. “Mr Selwyn made no attempt to prevent the fall, nor did any of the accused.

“The group immediately approached Mr Selwyn and attempted to wake him up.”

When he did not wake up, the group took Selwyn to his room and left him on the bed before leaving in the same car. A week later, Selwyn’s family requested a welfare check from hotel staff without hearing from him, after which his body was discovered.

His death was determined to be the result of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by blunt force trauma to the head.

While investigating the death, police obtained text messages between Logos and older brother Fauzia that indicated they were involved in the methamphetamine trade together. They announced the order the day after Selwyn’s death, even before his body was found. From their reports, officers determined that they had supplied at least 5 grams of methamphetamine that month.

The following month, police executed search warrants at their homes in Mount Wellington, Otahuhu and Glen Innes.

At Logos’s home, police found a bag next to his bed containing 55 grams of methamphetamine, packaged for sale. Another 8g was found on Logo along with $5,000 in cash.

At Andrew Fauzia’s home, police found 132g of methamphetamine and 15.7g of a substance commonly used by dealers to cut the drug before selling it. They also found three firearms, including two shotguns, that were hidden near drugs in the kitchen, as well as ammunition and $19,000 in cash.

Fauzia’s younger brother was found at his home with another 432 grams of methamphetamine in a red shoe box, along with nearly $17,000 in cash and shotgun ammunition.

“In explaining his actions when speaking to police, Mr. Logo admitted that he supplied Mr. Selwyn with methamphetamine and was at the scene,” the agreed statement of facts in the case states. “He stated that he was dealing methamphetamine to support his drug habit.”

Logo pleaded guilty to five charges in the High Court: two counts of supplying methamphetamine this month to Selwyn and “persons unknown”, two counts of possessing methamphetamine for supply on the day of the execution of a search warrant and one count of conspiracy with his younger brother Fauzia. injure Selwyn. He was also sentenced last week on two unrelated methamphetamine charges to which he pleaded guilty in District Court.

Meanwhile, Fauzia’s older brother pleaded guilty to the same charge of surrender to “persons unknown” and five other counts related to contraband found in his home.

During his sentencing last week, it was noted that Andrew Fauzia, 30, had 11 previous convictions, most notably for a gang attack in Princes Wharf in February 2022 and for careless driving under the influence of drink or drugs causing death.

In 2013, aged 19, he was driving friend David Sionepoulu’s car when he lost control and crashed into a fence in Orakai. Sionepoulou died on the spot. pierced his torso steel rod.

However, Judge Ian Gault agreed with defense lawyer Jonathon Hudson that the previous offenses were not relevant to the current offending. He declined to reduce the sentence, but noted that the mention of past convictions did serve the purpose of precluding any discounts for previous good behavior.

Andrew Fauzia was sentenced to four years and six months in prison, with his lawyer suggesting he played a lesser role in the drug trade than his co-accused.

“I accept that in the two cases identified you acted under the direction of Mr. Logo,” Judge Gault responded. “However, the items located at your address – methamphetamine in plastic bags, solvent and significant cash – indicate an operational function of some size and actual or expected financial benefit.”

A year was added to the sentence for the gun and ammunition found during the search of his home, with the judge noting that “deterrent sentences are necessary in cases where the firearms offense is related to drug trafficking activity.”

The defendant sought discounts for remorse, background and guilty pleas. The judge rejected the discount due to remorse.

“You sought to downplay your role by indicating that you did not know how serious the crime was and by stating that the motive for your offending was your own addiction and the financial difficulties you faced and that you were trying to provide your family with the best life possible could. “, noted Judge Gault. “The Crown acknowledges your remorse for Mr Selwyn’s death but notes that you have not been sentenced on charges related to it.”

Andrew Fauzia suggested other mitigating factors could include multiple concussions he suffered in rugby in the past and his concerns about prison after he was stabbed while in custody.

Judge Gault allowed a 30% reduction, resulting in a final sentence of three years and 10 months in prison.

Meanwhile, Logo’s drug offense resulted in a prison sentence of five years and six months – one year longer than his co-accused’s starting point.

The judge noted that if all his charges were combined, he would have more than 202 grams of methamphetamine under his control. This equates to approximately 2,000 individual doses as police have cited in previous drug cases, but Judge Gault described Logos’ individual charges as indicative of “small street dealers/retailers”.

A year was added for Logo’s conspiracy to injure the prosecution.

“I have taken into account the victim impact statements provided by Mr Selwyn’s whānau for (Alex Fauzia’s) previous (manslaughter) conviction,” Judge Gault said. “The relevant charge today is conspiracy to cause mischief, but I accept that it resulted in the tragic death of Mr Selwyn.

“I have read these victim impact statements and know that whatever sentence I impose today for the offense in question will not compensate for the harm caused to the family.”

For some crimes, he was given an additional four months while he was on bail.

A 40% sentence reduction was then taken into account after defense lawyer Mark Ryan pointed to Logo’s background, relative youth (he was 24 at the time of the crime), letter of remorse and guilty plea.

One report noted that after returning from Australia to New Zealand to support his mother following the death of his father, he developed a mild gambling addiction and severe methamphetamine disorder. But in a conflicting report he insisted he had never used methamphetamine and denied he was intoxicated at the time of the offence, saying instead he only saw the drug as a source of income.

“Your letter expresses a sincere apology to the victim’s family,” the judge noted. “You acknowledge that you have no excuse for what you did and state that you will take full responsibility for your actions. This also contradicts what you told the author of the report before sentencing. “You attempted to blame the victim and denied any intention to harm him.”

Logos’ final sentence was four years and two months in prison, four months longer than his co-defendant.

Throughout the nearly two-year trial, which ended last week, the victim’s family and supporters attended each hearing wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Justice4Ajae.”

Their lives changed after Selwyn’s death, his brother Michael Nancorrow wrote in a statement read aloud by Crown prosecutor Henry Steele during Alex Fauzia’s sentencing in August.

He spoke of the “heartbreaking screams we heard when we learned that our brother had been killed over something so minor” and his ongoing concern for his brother’s children.

“He didn’t even see you coming,” Selwyn’s sister said at the same hearing, adding that her brother “never stood a chance” against the three men. “Adjae’s life was taken by a cruel, cowardly act.

“For eight nights and eight days, my brother’s lifeless body lay on his bed, rotting further and further beyond recognition… Strangely enough, my brother’s children never got to see him in the coffin, hug him, kiss him and say goodbye to him . last time.”

Judge Michelle Wilkinson-Smith, who oversaw the previous sentencing, accepted all three men should be ashamed of how they handled the situation.

“The harm you caused cannot be repaired,” she told Alex Fauzia. “You took a life. You didn’t mean to kill, so you’re charged with manslaughter, but you committed an incredibly cruel and dangerous act, and when your victim was unconscious and probably dying, you didn’t call 911. You didn’t even leave him where he fell where someone else could see him and call 911.

“You and your accomplices hid him from any opportunity to help.”

Craig Captain is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined Herald in 2021 and has been covering the courts for three newsrooms in the United States and New Zealand since 2002.

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