Carjacker changes ways

Windsor Martin used to be a man who took drugs, hung around with the wrong crowd and carjacked a woman to evade police. Now, he wants to spend more time with his children and partner. He is going to get plenty of time to do that, after being sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday to eight months’ home detention for kidnapping. The crime happened on October 15, when Martin was jumping fences to avoid police. He came across a woman in a car, to whom he lied about needing to get to the hospital after his sister had been in an accident. She offered him a ride, but switched on to the situation after seeing police officers on her street. She ordered Martin from the car, resulting in him taking control of the car by putting his hands on the foot pedals. The car narrowly missed a parked car during the incident, before the woman pulled the handbrake. Defence lawyer Steve Winter said Martin wanted to apologise to the woman for his actions. ‘‘He understands the distress he caused.’’ Martin was previously a methamphetamine user who kept dodgy company, and spent almost no time with his family. But he had turned that around recently, spending time at home with his children and being an active father, Judge Stephanie Edwards said. The judge ordered Martin to pay the woman $500 in reparation, $100 of that for a jacket that was in the car during the carjacking. The fate of the jacket was not mentioned in open court.