Abynei Lacey pleads guilty to home invasion, thefts in fake cop plot

A Corio mum who was consuming 7g of ice a day was the “controller” of a group impersonating police during a bizarre home invasion.

Abynei Lacey pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to charges stemming from a fake cop plot to rob a Whittington home. Picture: Facebook.

A stay-at-home mum who was consuming up to 7g of ice a day has been described as the “controller” in a bizarre home invasion in which a group posed as police officers conducting a raid.

Abynei Lacey, 26, pleaded guilty in the County Court at Geelong on Thursday to one charge of home invasion and two charges of theft, along with two summary offences of impersonating police officers.

The court was told that on the morning of March 20, 2023, a family of four living on Orbit Dr, Whittington, were woken to banging on their front door.

The court heard Lacey had a clipboard and was shouting “police” and that they had a warrant.

Upon being let in, Lacey stayed with the victims while others ransacked the house.

The thieves stole phones, ID cards, about $8-9,000 in cash from a safe, eight pairs of Nike shoes, a Pandora jewellery box, car keys and six to eight cannabis plants that had been growing in a greenhouse.

Prosecutor Richard Pirrie told the court one witness said Lacey was “acting like she was in a cop TV show”, while another said “the female was like the controller with the (others) as lackeys”.

The group fled after the family realised they were not police, stealing two of the family’s cars.

Fifteen minutes before the home invasion, two brothers were walking along Solar Dr in Whittington when a black Mazda – stolen 17 days prior – pulled up alongside them.

Lacey, wearing businesslike attire and blue latex gloves, was the first out of the car.
She told the victims it was the police, and to stop and put their hands on a fence.

She searched the short pockets of both men, maintaining the facade she was a police officer and asking if they had “anything sharp” in their pockets.

After searching one of the victim’s bags, the group seized a bank card and left the scene.

The incident was captured a nearby home’s security camera, and footage was played in court.

Lacey was arrested at her home in Corio and interviewed, and her house searched.

Police found a fraudulent police ID, handcuffs, some of the Nike shoes and phones, while two of the stolen cars were found in the vicinity.

Lacey’s lawyer, Heather Anderson, told the court the offending took place in the “context” of a significant drug habit and her client “had not slept” for close to two weeks prior to the offending.

Ms Anderson said at the time, Lacey was consuming 5-7g of ice and 50-100mL of GHB a day, alongside “a small amount of cannabis”.

Ms Anderson told the court her client had experienced a “number of traumas” in her life, which “shaped who (she) is” and led to a vicious cycle where she turned to drugs to cope.

However, during her time in custody Lacey had been “proactive” about addressing the root cause of the issue, Ms Anderson said, and had been completing a number of courses and engaging with counselling services.

Lacey remained in custody and will sentenced on July 12.

Originally published as Abynei Lacey pleads guilty to home invasion, thefts in fake cop plot