The self-proclaimed "world's greatest catfish" has been jailed for nearly six years over a two-month crime spree, during which he claimed to be a hitman, attempted to blackmail a man and robbed a teenager.
Jesse Christopher Kirkwood, 31, pleaded guilty to 10 charges which also included joint commission common assault, three counts of aggravated burglary, making demands with threats to kill, two counts of theft, possession of an offensive weapon with intent and cultivating cannabis plants.
Among Kirkwood's escapades, which spanned from July to August 2021, were catfishing a man as a woman in her 20s on the website "sugardaddymeets.com" and trying to extort him before assaulting him.
A week later, Kirkwood and a teenage co-offender hired a BMW from a man saved in Kirkwood's phone as 'Tim Kidnapping Car lol' before picking up a boy he had been speaking to on Snapchat about buying some electronic cigarettes, or "vapes".
Kirkwood's co-offender is said to have held the teenager at knifepoint while Kirkwood drove erratically through Nicholls, Palmerston and Crace for about 20 minutes before they let the teenager out and stole $700 worth of his vapes.
On another occasion, Kirkwood and two different co-offenders threatened to kill someone unless a man paid them not to carry out the supposed "hit".
This extortion attempt involved Kirkwood possessing a samurai sword and demanding $25,000 to call off the planned killing, and later stealing more than $11,000 worth of property.
Justice Geoffrey Kennett on Friday sentenced Kirkwood to a total jail term of five years and nine months, which he backdated to begin in January to account for time already served on remand.
The judge imposed a non-parole period of three years, making Kirkwood eligible for release in early 2025.
Kirkwood's co-offenders in the final extortion attempt, Keona Watson and Jamie Banks, have also pleaded guilty over their involvement.
