Caleb Pavlovic pleads guilty to savage, violent carjacking attempt

A man who attacked a taxi driver with a knife had a 42-page history with priors for “every conceivable” type of violence, a court has heard.

Caleb Pavlovic. Picture: supplied.

A man slashed the face of a taxi driver during a savage attempted carjacking and threatened to “f--k him”.

Caleb Pavlovic, 26, appeared in the County Court in Geelong on Wednesday, and pleaded guilty to intentionally causing injury, attempted aggravated carjacking and damaging property.

At 2.50am on June 11 last year, Pavlovic hailed a taxi at the Moorabool St taxi rank and asked for a ride to Colac to see his sick girlfriend.

A short way into the ride Pavlovic “became agitated” and told the driver: “Before you, I f--ked one taxi driver and now I’m going to f--k you too”.

As the car passed the McKillop St intersection on LaTrobe Terrace, Pavlovic pulled out a butterfly knife and slashed the driver’s face, resulting in a 10cm long laceration on his left cheek and a permanent scar.

According to court documents, the victim alerted Pavlovic to the taxi’s internal camera.

Pavlovic ripped out it of place and threw it at the driver’s head.

The driver immediately pulled into the 7-Eleven and stopped, getting out of the car as Pavlovic demanded the keys.

Pavlovic climbed into the driver’s seat and tried unsuccessfully to drive off, before getting out, briefly chasing the driver.

The driver was able to flag down a passing police car, as Pavlovic climbed on the car and stomped on the roof.

Pavlovic was arrested after a short foot chase towards GMHBA Stadium.

In custody, Pavlovic became aggressive and yelled: “I’m a spitter you dogs, I’m going to spit”.

Pavlovic, of not fixed address, was using 0.6mg of ice daily at the time of the incident, the court heard, and had been released from custody just five days beforehand.

Pavlovic’s lawyer, barrister Olivia Thompson told the court her client, who has an intellectual disability, had taken responsibility for his actions.

She told the court her client’s wellbeing had deteriorated in prison, including “a number of periods in solitary confinement” and episodes of self-harm.

Ms Thompson said that many of her clients “deficits” seemed to arise from exposure to “substances in utero” but he had not formally been diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome.

Pavlovic was placed in a foster home but remained “somebody who has struggled from his earliest childhood”.

Judge Marcus Dempsey said Pavlovic was a complex case with “a lot of moving parts” and he needed more information to pass sentence.

He asked the defence to provide materials about his NDIS package, which the court heard was worth around $250,000.

Pavlovic has a 42-page criminal history, Judge Dempsey said, with priors for “every conceivable species of violence” and had not complied with corrections orders in the past.

“Your client is beyond deterrence to me,” Judge Dempsey said.

Ms Thompson argued there was “some hope” for her client.

“He’s still a relatively young man, of course he has some history, but he’s still somebody with a significant period ahead of him,” she said.

Pavlovic will be assessed for a justice plan and reappear in court on August 9.

Originally published as Caleb Pavlovic pleads guilty to savage, violent carjacking attempt