‘Terrifying’: Ice addict sentenced for carjacking elderly man, 93

The shocking moment a drug addict attacked a 93-year-old grandfather and stole his car in broad daylight outside a Cairns supermarket has been detailed in court during the sentencing of the offender.

AN ICE-addicted Cairns man who has spent most of his adult life in jail will remain behind bars until at least December for the violent daylight carjacking of a 93-year-old man.

Jai Savage, 25, had injected ice the morning before he grabbed the frail elderly man and yanked him from his car which was parked outside of the Woree IGA supermarket in April last year while waiting for his wife in the hairdressers.

The Cairns District Court heard it was only when the victim begged “I’m bleeding” that he released him, jumped in his car and drove away, callously leaving him lying injured in the carpark.

Cairns man Jai Andrew Savage car jacked a 93-year-old man.

MORE NEWS

Stolen car capital: Why thefts are through roof

Stark warning to Far North women as crime spikes

Man cops huge fine for treatment of pet dogs

The Cairns grandfather spent two days in hospital recovering from multiple injuries.

Three days after his arrest Savage attacked again, this time a fellow inmate in the Cairns watch house who he kicked, stomped and punched repeatedly in the exercise yard, causing him to break his arm.

He was handed a five-year jail sentence by Judge Tracy Fantin on Friday after pleading guilty to robbery with violence, assault occasioning bodily harm and five other minor offences including drug possession after he was busted trial to swallow a bag of ice in custody.

He will be eligible for parole in December.

“If you want to turn things around Mr Savage, you’re going to have to (quit drugs) because if you keep using on release you’re just going to spend the rest of your life in prison,” Judge Fantin said.

Savage, 25, has spent most of his adult life in jail.

Savage was jailed in 2014 for dangerous driving causing death after flipping a stolen car filled with teenagers and killing 15-year-old schoolgirl Shardai Doble.

The court heard he should have been paroled in 2015, but repeatedly offended while in custody – damaging prison property – and eventually got out four years later.

His behaviour on parole was “not good”, the court heard, trying to rip off a tracking bracelet four times and tampering with urine samples.

Just prior to his attack on the elderly man he was seen pacing, aggravated and sweaty in a shopping centre before what his barrister Michael Dalton described as “opportunistic, drug fuelled offending”.

“This would have been a terrifying and shocking experience for that old man,” Judge Fantin said.

The court heard he had penned the victim an apology letter and a psychologist report confirmed his remorse, although rated him a high risk of further violence, particularly if he continued drug use.

Originally published as ‘Terrifying’: Ice addict sentenced for carjacking elderly man, 93