Jamie Marendaz, 35, jailed after ‘terrifying’ Corio aggravated burglary

A man has been jailed for his involvement in a “terrifying” home invasion where a couple were forced to strip naked before their bedroom was ransacked.

Jamie Marendaz was sentenced to five years in jail in the Geelong County Court. Picture: Mitch Bear

A man has been jailed for his involvement in a “terrifying” home invasion where a couple were assaulted, forced to strip naked and robbed.

Jamie Marendaz, 35, appeared at the Geelong County Court on Wednesday via video link from custody and pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated burglary, one count of making a threat to kill and three counts of theft.

Marendaz and two co-accused, Robert Tuipolotu and Esther Sidiris – who have both previously pleaded guilty and been sentenced – were walking home from the Gateway Hotel in Corio about 4.30am on December 17, 2022.

Tuipolotu said they were going to the victim’s house because “this guy owes me money”.

About 6.30am, the group broke into the victim’s unit in Corio, where the man was asleep with his partner.

The sleeping couple were hit in the face with a wooden stake and were told to hand over their possessions. The offenders stole keys to a Holden hatchback, two mobiles phones, two PlayStations and model cars.

Tuipolotu produced a firearm and threatened to shoot the male victim.

Marendaz then brandished a gel blaster, an imitation firearm, which he passed to Sidiris.

The court heard Marendaz stood at the end of the victim’s bed and said “don’t you assume you won’t get shot today because I feel like popping someone. Today might be your lucky day.”

The group forced the couple to strip naked and lie down on their bed at gunpoint.

They then ransacked the bedroom and loaded the stolen items into the victim’s Holden.

The court heard the victims recognised Tuipolotu and Sidiris but did not know Marendaz.

The group then fled the scene and went to a Norlane home.

CCTV footage from the home shows the offenders doing a “celebratory fist bump” upon arrival.

The court heard Marendaz shaved off his beard after the offence, which Judge Gerald Mullaly said revealed he was conscious of his guilt and had tried to avoid detection. Marendaz’s lawyer, Daniel McGlone said his client had complex PTSD from an home invasion about six years where his brother was kidnapped and brutally assaulted.

“His response to trauma in his life has been to disappear into drug use,” he said.

Mr McGlone said Marendaz’s involvement with drugs led him to “violence and confrontation with others”.

Prosecutor Fiona Martin said the act of forcing the couple to strip naked was “humiliating and degrading”.

“The fear these two victims must have felt after being told to strip naked at gunpoint must been terrifying,” she said.

“There is evidence of remorse in terms of his guilty plea but no mention of the victims … there is little evidence of empathy for the victims.”

Judge Mullaly said the offence “occurred on unsuspecting victims who were asleep in their beds”.

“(Aggravated burglary) is an offence that spreads a lot of fear into the community,” he said.

Judge Mullaly described Marendaz’s threats as “chilling”.

“You have a concerning number of prior criminal convictions,” he said.

“You’ve been provided with previous opportunities for rehabilitation, including community corrections orders, which you have not taken up.”

Judge Mullaly sentenced Marendaz to five years imprisonment and a non-parole period of three years and three months with 627 days in custody reckoned.

Originally published as Jamie Marendaz, 35, jailed after ‘terrifying’ Corio aggravated burglary