Jack Mason warned Merseyside Police’s Chief Constable Serena Kennedy he would “cut her face off”
Jack Mason(Image: Merseyside Police)
A thug adopted a pseudonym inspired by a killer who murdered police officers as he cooked up a chilling “recipe” for “tasting blood”. Jack Mason developed a grudge with Merseyside Police after being an arrested by a PC whom he was subsequently banned from contacting following a campaign of harassment.
He then went on to warn Chief Constable Serena Kennedy that he had armed himself with a gun and threatened to “cut her face off” amid rioting in the city last summer. In one disturbing email, he even claimed to gain a “sense of sexual pleasure” from his fantasies of extreme violence and claimed: “Soon people will die. When it’s all over the news and when you see my name, it will all make sense.”
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon that Mason was previously detained by the force for “obstructing a drug search and resisting arrest” back in 2021. The 31-year-old, of Grasmere Avenue in St Helens, then went on to bombard the arresting officer with a string of threatening phone calls over the space of around two weeks, telling him on one occasion: “I’ll just f***ing blow your head off, you little d***head.”
Nardeen Nemat, prosecuting, described how this led to him being convicted of harassment and issued with a restraining order which banned him from contacting the PC until June 2022. The officer in question later left Merseyside Police, with his collar number thereafter being given to a student PC.
Mason then began contacting this officer on February 7 last year under the name “Harry Roberts”, a moniker which was said to have been inspired by a criminal who murdered three police officers in London in the 1960s and whom he had watched a documentary on. In his emails, he initially claimed to have “evidence to give” in relation to a case.
But this was followed up in the early hours of the next day with another message, in which he stated: “Come on now Jack, don’t be ignoring me you stupid b****rd”. Soon, people will die. When it’s all over the news, I want you to think back to this lovely email and when you see my name it’ll all make sense.”
At 10pm on that date, Mason sent a third email in which he made threats to “slice” the officer’s throat open. The email said: “I only hope you would be there on the big day, but the odds aren’t in my favour. Either way I will be tasting blood, even if it’s not yours. Recipe: two Glocks, one .38, eight magazines, one uniform, one stab proof vest, one bottle of petrol, one lighter, one police station.”
On February 17, Mason sent a further email warning “time is almost up”. This led to him being arrested on March 1, although no action was taken against him at this stage as detectives were unable to find any evidence linking him to the Harry Roberts account.
He would subsequently participate in violent scenes which erupted in Liverpool city centre on August 3 following the fatal stabbings of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. Messages from the previous day showed him asking an “acquaintance”: “Do you know where there’s any protests meeting up because of the foreigners in the country and that?”
Mason added that it was “kicking off in Sunderland already” and remarked that there was some “[racial slurs] in Liverpool as well”, saying: “Going to town tomorrow, I just want to know where. Is it definitely at the Town Hall tomorrow?”
This was confirmed to him, but when told the “English Defence League are meeting in St Helens tomorrow”, he replied “f*** St Helens, on my way to town now”. This message was accompanied by an emoji showing a flexed bicep.
On the day of the rioting, Mason was caught on camera smashing bricks onto the floor on the Pier Head and launching a missile towards police officers. In this footage, he was shown with a balaclava covering his face and wearing the same khaki green shirt that he wore in the dock today.
Then, on August 15, he resumed his emails under the guise of Harry Roberts. On this occasion, Mason contacted Merseyside Police’s Chief Constable Serena Kennedy stating: “One gun acquired, two more to go. It will be a glorious day.”
The following morning, he said in a further message to Deputy Chief Constable Chris Green asking him how it would feel to watch Chief Constable Serena Kennedy’s face being “cut off.”
He went on to say killing officers would be a “dream come true” and described the killing of 16 children in Scotland as a “waste of mass shooting.” This appeared to be a reference to the Dunblane massacre, in which 16 children and a teacher were shot dead at a primary school in 1996.
Mason was then further arrested on September 18. During a search of his home address, officers seized items including an airsoft gun, a noose, a knife, a drawing of a swastika, stickers bearing the words “white lives matter” and racial slurs, two suicide notes and a small quantity of cannabis.
A further examination of his mobile phone also revealed a picture of the defendant wearing a swastika armband, a photograph of a rainbow flag being burned and an image containing the message: “Don’t blame me. I voted for Hitler.”
Mason has a total of five previous convictions for seven offences, including two appearances for resisting police in 2022. He then faced a malicious communications offence later that year after threatening to “attend St Helens Police Station with a firearm”.
In January 2023, he was handed an 18-month community order for a similar charge after sending a series of texts to a female police officer in which he said he was “intending to purchase a firearm” and was “thinking of going shooting police officers at the police station”. He added in his messages that he was “quite fixated on the idea at the moment”.
Paul Becker, defending, told the court on Monday that the death of Mason’s father had led to a “significant effect on his mental health”, with his client having shown “suicidal and autistic traits”. His counsel added: “It does have to be immediate custody, and of some length, but I ask you to make it as short as possible.”
Mason pleaded guilty to violent disorder, five malicious communications offences and possession of cannabis. Sporting a shaved head, a beard and glasses, he showed no reaction as was jailed for four years and four months and handed a five-year criminal behaviour order.
Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: “You knew that Harry Roberts was a figure from the 1960s who had murdered police officers, and you assumed that person’s name deliberately. You told the officer that you were wanting to get in touch over some evidence however, the following day, you began the first of several threatening messages.
“Following your participation in the violent disorder, your threats substantially increased and now targeted the Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Serena Kennedy. Your email contained a specific and detailed description of the violence you wanted to commit upon Chief Constable Kennedy.
“It was a direct threat to life. While she of course requires a strong degree of resilience to carry out her duties, she nonetheless is human and threats like this are pervasive and intrusive.”
Of Mason’s involvement in the violent disorder, the judge added: “I am satisfied that your offending was motivated by religious or racial hatred. You plainly attended these protests because of a deep seated hatred of Islam and non-white ethnic groups.”