Man jailed for holding Nelson woman at gunpoint for 15 hours

A woman held hostage at gunpoint for more than 15 hours in her Nelson home says she still lives in fear that the man who did so, will one day kill her.

Phillip Clinton Mant, 56, kidnapped the woman and her father, last August over grievances with a court ruling, forcing the lockdown of a nearby hospital and four schools and the closures of several roads.

He was sentenced in the Nelson District Court today to five years and two months imprisonment on nine charges including kidnapping, using an explosive to commit an offence, unlawfully possessing a firearm, committing a crime with a firearm, threatening to kill and grievous bodily harm, two charges of breaching a protection order, and committing a threatening act towards a dwelling and the people in it.

The court heard how Mant was using alcohol and methamphetamine at the time. He had since gained insight into the offending, was remorseful for his actions and accepted he should have reached out for help sooner.

RNZ has not named the victims given their relationship to Mant.

The woman told the court that she had known Mant for more than two decades and had lived in fear of him for some time due to experiencing continuous abuse. She believed a court decision last March was the catalyst for the kidnapping.

"I told a friend I feared Phil would one day walk down my driveway with a shotgun. That fear turned out to be very real. Because of the kidnapping, I strongly feel that one day Phil, consumed by his own rage toward me, may kill me."

She said she regularly relived the ordeal, which had robbed her of the normal enjoyment of life, made her suspicious and affected her sleep. She said some people thought she was to blame for the kidnapping, that her behaviour had caused it, which reinforced a belief that men were not responsible for their own actions.

She remained fearful Mant would kill her, once he was released from prison.

"Nothing, except imprisonment, will keep me safe from him."

In sentencing, Judge Garry Barkle said Mant's actions were "an attempt to take the law into your own hands" which caused significant psychological and emotional harm to the victims, which was ongoing and possibly lifelong.

He said the victim impact statements made for "harrowing listening". They detailed the impact of the kidnapping, which the woman described as life shattering and debilitating, leaving her in a constant state of fear.

The considerable length of the lockdown resulting from the kidnapping had caused fear and anxiety for those directly impacted, including the parents of school-aged children.

Judge Barkle imposed an order that prevented Mant from owning, using or accessing a firearm in the future to manage the risk to public safety and ordered the destruction of the weapons used in the incident.

Crown prosecutor Sophie O'Donoghue said Mant had created a volatile armed hostage-taking of a powerless terrified female for an excess of 15 hours because he was angry with the outcome of court proceedings.

She said the offending was at the serious end of the kidnapping spectrum as there was a high level of premeditation and planning, there had been threats to use a weapon with violence, it took place in the victim's home, both victims were unarmed and vulnerable, one of them was a protected person under a protection order and it had also caused harm to the wider community.

"It was a lengthy, intense 15-and-a-half hour period where the police negotiation team had established contact and were unable to free [the woman] from the house."

Mant was supported by a large number of people in court, some calling out "I love you" as he was escorted to the cells.

Defence lawyer Michael Vesty said that support would be an integral part of Mant's reintegration into the community at some point.

Vesty said Mant now understood that he had an unresolved sense of justice which led to the kidnapping.

In a pre-sentence report, Mant described his offending as an "implosion born out of depression, addiction and anger" and he had considered himself a victim of the court system.

Upon reflection, Mant said he had made a series of poor decisions that culminated in the offending and that, through a clear and sober lens, he should have reached out to one of the many avenues of support available.

He had been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder and severe stimulant use disorder and had completed some treatment while in custody. He was motivated to attend a residential alcohol and drug programme.

Mant said he no longer held animosity towards the woman and had written letters to her, her father and the court apologising for his conduct and the impact it had on them.

"I am not the same person I was nine months ago, I am a better person."

Cordons were placed across the suburb of Nelson South on August 12 last year after the stand-off at the woman's home that saw four schools, a playcentre, kindergarten, Franklyn Village and Nelson Hospital placed into lockdown.

Nelson City Council had to close roads and re-route traffic which inconvenienced thousands of residents. A number of nearby residents opted to leave their addresses for the night and had to find alternative accommodation.

Mant was arrested after a 15-hour stand off and an operation that involved significant resources, including the Armed Offenders Squad, police negotiators and the Defence Force explosive ordnance disposal team.

The court heard how Mant had handwritten hundreds of pages of notes venting his anger about the recent court ruling. They included "vulgar abuse" of a number of individuals, along with the details of the hostage situation he had planned and his justification for it.

In the months leading up to the incident, Mant had obtained a .22 rifle, ammunition and fashioned a crude improvised explosive device (IED) by taping three small gas cylinders together.

He had eight envelopes, containing pages of handwritten notes intended as "demands" during the hostage situation.

On August 12, Mant drove to the woman's house and forced her father who was sitting outside, into the house, while carrying a loaded sawn-down shotgun fitted with a silencer, ammunition and the IED.

He made the pair sit on chairs in the lounge and closed the windows and curtains, before pointing the firearm at the pair and yelling abuse at them. They told police they feared being shot by Mant if they attempted to leave or did not do what they were being told to.

He later told the woman if she tried to run, he would have "popped her" and over the next 15 hours, called her a "lying c***, f***ing coward, f***ing mongrel and a f***ing evil piece of sh*t", amongst other names, while continuing his threats to kill her.

The woman was ordered to call police and tell them she was being held hostage by a man with a gun, who wanted police to hear his demands.

Mant could be heard yelling abuse in the background and threatening to blow up the house. He took over the phone and repeated the threat that if police entered the house then "this place will be gone".

The phone call lasted about 98 minutes and once it ended, the police negotiation team initiated contact with Mant in an attempt to resolve the situation.

Two hours after entering the home, Mant let the man leave the address, but it took another 13 hours before he surrendered to police walking out onto the street about 1.45am where he was arrested.

rnz.co.nz