After Perry Mason used a 'foot-long” knife to carjack a woman, he handed chip shop staff a note that said he was 'truly sorry” for the crime – and that the 'dogs” had her driving licence if she went to police.
Details of the bizarre offending in Rotorua on March 4, 2019, can finally be revealed after Mason was sentenced to four years' imprisonment at Rotorua District Court, having been found guilty by a jury of kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
Sentencing Judge Tony Snell also revealed the reason Mason, 49, declined to enter guilty pleas – he 'didn't want to embarrass his mother”.
Snell said that while the vehicle, a brand-new Toyota the woman had bought a few weeks before, was recovered, her phone that contained 'utterly irreplaceable” photos of her late husband remained missing.
The police summary of facts revealed the woman was visiting Rotorua to take a friend to the hospital for surgery and, while that was taking place, she headed into town for some shopping, parking on Hinemoa St.
Mason, who had tied an item of clothing around his face, opened the front passenger door and entered the vehicle holding 'a large knife that the complainant described as having a blade about a foot long”.
He poked the knife into her side, told her not to look at him and to drive away.
'The complainant asked if she could finish rolling her cigarette and the defendant said no and grabbed the tobacco and papers she was holding and threw them to the floor of the car.”
Mason directed her to stop at a particular driveway where he demanded she get out, telling her to 'give me your f...... keys”.
He also 'patted the complainant down” looking for her phone before getting back into the $36,000 vehicle. He drove off, stopping again in an industrial area.
'He stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road and got out leaving the vehicle with the engine running,” the summary said.
'The defendant left the vehicle and walked away from the scene. The vehicle was later recovered by police.”
About 5pm on the same day, Mason then entered a fish and chip shop, and 'handed the complainant's purse into the cashier and walked out without making a comment”.
The purse was handed over to police who found a note inside.
'I'm truly sorry I don't know what came over me forget me pls dogs have a copy of drivers licence should police or anyone get involved sorry sorry sorry.”
Mason, who declined to make any comment to police after his arrest, had previously appeared before the court.
2 comments
A conflicted and disturbed man.
Posted on 28-10-2022 12:13 | By morepork
He gets 4 years... That seems stiff to me, compared to the wet bus tickets we see other criminals get. I know it was very upsetting for the victim and he has to pay, but I hope he can get some help and comes out a more stable and better person. It seems that he is not a truly evil individual.
Why so long?
Posted on 28-10-2022 23:40 | By LittleBlister
You have to wonder why it's taken over three and a half years for this case to go to court. Regardless of the lack of violence, and his pathetic apology note, the victim has had to wait a very long time for justice. Four years seems a light sentence.
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