Nicholas Scott Kerr, aged 33, has been unmasked as the notorious bandana burglar. Kerr was at large between 2018 and 2020, during which time he broke into student flats, stole 51 items worth over $22,000, and cut holes in the curtains of seven female students.
Kerr used the alias “Samantha Peek” (not exactly subtle) to earn a tidy sum by selling people’s shit on Facebook Marketplace. So if you bought a sweet new home appliance from Samantha in the past few years, congrats: you’re the proud owner of stolen property. Critic Te Arohi advises that you try to find the original owner.
Kerr was sentenced to three years and two months imprisonment from December 2021 along with an $8,000 fine. The judge refused Kerr’s request for name suppression which was “vehemently opposed” by five victims of Kerr’s crime spree. The ODT originally reported on the impact that these crimes had upon Kerr’s victims, which we have repeated below.
Amongst Kerr’s victims was Mike*, who lost $4,800 worth of possessions. “He took everything I had when I was going through a really tough time. He took my money, my possessions, and my feeling of safety in the home.”
In another incident, Sophie* found Kerr peeping through a hole in her flatmate’s curtains as she had gotten out of the shower. Sophie said that the incident “basically scared the shit out of all of [us]”, resulting in her flatmate not sleeping in her bed “for weeks”.
On another occasion, Kerr broke into Paige*’s flat. He allegedly smashed her head into the wall, resulting in a severe concussion and ongoing neck pain. “I live in pain every single day ... he preyed on youths in vulnerable situations, with sexual motivations behind many of his break-ins,” said Paige.
Sophie described how “student flats have low security, and because we all live in one area it becomes a breeding ground for creeps.” Castle and Leith are currently the only main streets with CCTV cameras. “There needs to be some put on Queen, Dundas, Cosy Dell, Warrender [and] London [streets] ... as they are all hotspots.”
However, due to economic constraints caused by Covid, Phase 3 of the CCTV Project to boost the number of cameras on campus has hit a roadblock.
Since Big Brother can’t look out for us, Critic Te Arohi suggests that we should look out for each other. Lock your doors and windows before heading out and report any suspicious activity to Campus Watch or the police.
*Names have been changed to protect victims’ identities