Jail for carpark robbery of elderly woman

Kenneth Hunter Georgeson says he can’t believe that he robbed an 89-year-old woman in a supermarket carpark.

“I have been brought up not to do this,” said the gruff, rough-and-ready 49-year-old at his sentencing. “I still can’t believe I did this.”

The plucky elderly victim grabbed him when he distracted her and grabbed her wallet as she was loading groceries into her car in the Countdown carpark on Colombo Street, Beckenham, on September 18.

She was bruised when she fell as Georgeson made his getaway. When he was caught he helped police retrieve her wallet, and he has now made arrangements from prison to pay her back the $70 he took.

His 14 pages of criminal record print-out, stretching back to 1978, caught up with him at his sentencing today on charges of robbery, stealing a bicycle, offensive behaviour and disorderly behaviour. He had pleaded guilty.

The judge added on time for his long record, after crown prosecutor Kathy Basire pointed out there had not been one year since 1978 when he had not been offending.

Much of it is nuisance offending. Georgeson, unemployed, is a colourful local nuisance and regular attender at court. He was once prosecuted for indecent exposure for stripping naked in a laundomat so he could wash all his clothes.

He has problems with alcohol and gambling. The judge noted at a sentencing three years ago that he had not attended a problem gambling course because he was too busy gambling.

He told the probation officer that rehabilitation courses were a waste of time, but he changed his mind about that in court.

Christchurch District Court Judge David Saunders said the public were entitled to some respect and protection. A jail term of more than two years would ensure he had to go before the Parole Board to be assessed and released when he had tackled the cause of his offending.

Georgeson himself spoke at the sentencing, something reporters have not heard in years of his appearances, but it was not convincing.

He wanted to deny that the elderly woman he robbed had a walking stick. He also denied there was violence and convictions for offensive behaviour on his record, when in fact there certainly are.

“Perhaps there’s too many to remember now,” said Judge Saunders.

Defence counsel Jared Bell said Georgeson had not intended the violence nor the injuries. They had happened when the woman grabbed him and fell over.

Judge Saunders jailed him for two years and eight months and imposed a non-parole term of one year and four months. “There is work to be done in the institution to reduce the risk, before you can be released,” he said.