Jackson Haberman jailed for theft, dangerous driving and assaulting police

Minutes after being released from custody, a serial thief was caught breaking into cars outside Geelong Police Station, a court heard, as part of a spree a magistrate described as “carnage”.

Jackson Haberman. Picture: Facebook

Minutes after being released from custody, a serial thief was caught breaking into cars outside Geelong Police Station, a court heard, as part of a spree a magistrate described as “carnage”.

Jackson Haberman, 25, appeared in Geelong Magistrates Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to 44 charges, after accepting a sentencing indication from magistrate Simon Guthrie.

The charges included three counts of theft, three counts of theft from a motor vehicle, multiple counts of possessing ice and butanediol, four counts of obtaining property by deception, five counts of handling stolen goods, two counts of driving while disqualified, three counts of committing an indictable offences on bail.

He also pleaded guilty to and one count each of assaulting a police officer, going equipped to steal, trafficking ice, reckless conduct endangering life and serious injury and dangerous driving while pursued by police.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Stephanie Drake told the court that Haberman was arrested on January 27 for a spate of thefts from cars in Armstrong Creek on about January 24.

After being processed, the Geelong West man was bailed and released to appear in court in March.

Moments after leaving the station at 3.45pm, Haberman was caught on CCTV trying the door of an Audi parked nearby, Constable Drake said, before climbing into an unlocked Kia and stealing various items.

Shortly after Haberman was confronted breaking into another car, which had a smashed window and damage to wires underneath the steering wheel.

Shortly after, a third witness found Haberman in his backyard.

Haberman fled over a fence, where he found a man unpacking groceries from his car.

Haberman climbed into the car and reversed “at speed”, damaging the witness’s house and slamming into a car on Shannon Ave.

On January 29, Haberman and a co-accused were caught in a parking lot near Stead Park in Norlane in a stolen ute, attempting to break into another car.

When police opened the driver’s side door of the ute, Haberman reversed the car with the driver’s door open, pushing one of the officers for “some distance” the court heard.

Haberman’s lawyer, Ron Davies told the court his client had PTSD, an intellectual disability and was receiving NDIS support.

Mr Davies said that after being released from prison in November, Haberman restarted the drug use that had “plagued him” and was using ice and GHB daily, often combining them with methadone and xanax, which clouded his recollection of events.

Magistrate Simon Guthrie said it was “disturbing” that Haberman could not recall his “relentless” offending.

Mr Guthrie said Haberman had “no respect for court orders... no respect for others” and was “more than comfortable putting everyone else at risk”.

“You’re lucky no-one was injured, including you,” he said.

Addressing the court, Haberman said he was “quite sorry for all of it” and there was “no excuse for what (he’d) done”.

Mr Guthrie sentenced Haberman to a year in prison, with a community corrections order to follow.

Originally published as Jackson Haberman jailed for theft, dangerous driving and assaulting police