‘Methed-out’ man targeted Asians with ‘disturbing’ crimes

The judge said of Jayden Morgan, 'this man has huge problems'. Photo / Erin Cox, Otago Daily Times

A “homeless, hungry and methed-out” Dunedin man has been sentenced on a series of “disturbing” crimes in which he targeted members of the Asian community.

Jayden John Lee Morgan, 25, started experimenting with synthetic cannabis when he was 16 years old, a decision which resulted in him transgressing from a high-achieving pupil to a serial offender, the Dunedin District Court heard this week.

“By 19, he was offending and he has been offending ever since,” counsel Rhona Daysh said.

At 4pm on September 8, last year, Morgan was heavily dressed in layers of clothing, wearing gloves and a garment that obscured his face.

In Great King St, he saw an Asian woman walking towards the School of Dentistry.

He approached her and used an unknown object to prick her on the forearm.

The woman protested but he continued towards the school where another Asian woman was leaving the building.

Great King St in Dunedin, where Jayden Morgan carried out his bizarre assault. Photo / Peter McIntosh, File

Morgan walked faster while maintaining eye contact with her while the other woman yelled at him to stop.

He sped up until he made contact with the woman, placing a gloved hand on her right cheek — holding it there for a few seconds — and pricking her face with the unknown object. Without saying a word, Morgan left the scene.

The women were not injured but were “understandably unsettled and disturbed”, the court heard.

A cocktail of cannabis, alcohol and methamphetamine underpinned what Judge Emma Smith called “worrying” behaviour.

Jayden Morgan’s fixation was allegedly due to the kindness he had experienced from people in the Asian community. Photo / Erin Cox

“Quite frankly, there is a very disturbing undertone to your offending”, Judge Smith said.

Less than a month later, Morgan was attending a service at the Evergreen Korean Presbyterian Church of Dunedin when he was charged with intimidation, after wielding a large kitchen knife at church-goers and the pastor and threatening to “bring gang members” back to the church.

The Evergreen Korean Presbyterian Church of Dunedin in George St. Photo / Google Streetview

The judge acknowledged Morgan’s “preoccupation or a driving interest in persons of Asian descent”.

“This chap has huge problems,” Judge Smith said.

“In many ways, you appear as a conundrum and an enigma.”

The judge was determined to find an outcome that rehabilitated the man while keeping “the people in this community, especially those of Asian descent, safe”.

Morgan’s fixation on his victims came from him allegedly feeling “connected to them” due to the kindness he had experienced from people in the Asian community.

Judge Smith sentenced the man to 18 months intensive supervision and 200 hours of community work to “keep him busy”.

“I’ve got to stop you doing this. People in Dunedin need to be safe from your oddities, eccentricities ... from your addiction.”