Recidivist criminal and killer Jordan Young denied parole

A man who killed a woman while he was on a witness protection programme has been refused parole for a fourth time on a burglary sentence.

Jordan Young, a man with many aliases, was jailed for five years for manslaughter after causing a crash that killed a woman near Nelson in 2006.

The 37-year-old is currently serving another prison sentence: two years and seven months for burglary charges and a further 18 months for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Young appeared before the Parole Board this month where it was heard he had an eight-page criminal history for offences ranging from dishonesty convictions to serious drug-related offending and manslaughter.

He was jailed for manslaughter under the name Jonathan Barclay after 20-year-old Debbie Ashton died in a head-on crash near Nelson in December 2006.

He had been freed on parole in July that year, having served jail time for burglary and dishonesty offences, and was relocated to Nelson with a new identity under a police witness protection programme.

That October he was convicted of serious driving offences under his real name and disqualified from driving for 18 months with a final warning.

When he was caught drink-driving just days later. He could have been jailed but was instead treated as a first-time offender because the court didn't know he was using a new identity.

The following month he killed Debbie Ashton after his car became airborne doing 160km/h on the wrong side of the road in a 45km/h zone.

He was freed in April 2011 and moved to Hawke's Bay under the name Jordan Ubertek.

In August 2012 he was the driver of a BMW which turned in front of a truck on the Hawke's Bay Expressway, throwing a child from the car.

He was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to three charges of causing injury while driving under the influence of a controlled drug and one charge of breaching release conditions for the expressway accident.

This month, the Parole Board heard Young had completed a drug treatment programme and that a significant change had been noted in him.

At a previous hearing last November the Board was concerned about his "extensive and versatile history of offending and the part that drugs have played in it".

"The board was also concerned about his manipulative behaviour as evidenced in his repeat convictions for attempting to pervert the course of justice."

They asked for a psychological assessment, the focus of the latest hearing, which found Young's statements indicated "positive impression management".

"In addition, Mr Young employed cognitive distortions to justify and minimise his offending behaviour."

"[He] is able to superficially discuss treatment ready concepts but does not engage in consistent behavioural change."

It was determined he was at a high risk of further offending and he was denied parole.

Speaking from her Nelson home yesterday Judy Ashton, Debbie's mother, told Hawke's Bay Today she was pleased to hear Young had been denied parole.

When asked if she thought he would ever return to society rehabilitated she said, "absolutely not".

"Since he went away for Debbie's death this is probably his third go at going back in [to prison] and out again. How many chances do you give a person? You look at his history of convictions and charges and it's pages long."

She said his past offending indicated he would constantly be a risk to society.

"As I say he may not have been a violent offender but if you go and burgle somebody's house you victimise them. There's many more ways of being a victim than having someone killed or raped.

"We're forever victimised in our life because we have this legacy he's left behind that has totally changed our lives that will never be the same again.

"I doubt he will ever change his spots. I can't see it. I'm very skeptical that he will come out and not reoffend again."

Young will next come before the Parole Board in June.