Matthew Paul Franks, 42, buys stolen SUV before assaulting guard

A 42-year-old man who bought a stolen vehicle for $200 and left a corrections officer bloody in the aftermath, blamed trauma for his blatant offending.

A man caught red-handed fitting stolen registration plates on a stolen vehicle he bought for $200, elbowed a corrections officer bloody during his subsequent imprisonment, a court has heard.

Matthew Paul Franks, 42, of Upper Mount Gravatt told Cleveland Magistrates Court on Tuesday his serial offending stemmed from significant past trauma.

Franks pleaded guilty to a slew of charges that included serious assault of a corrections services officer, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, three counts of receiving tainted property and possessing dangerous drugs.

The court heard Franks on January 18 was with a male acquaintance in the car park of Cleveland apartment building fitting stolen registration plates onto a stolen Volkswagen Tiguan, when police busted them in the act.

Franks ran up to his apartment where officers would find him in possession of more stolen number plates, cannabis and a drug pipe.

The defendant admitted to police he bought the vehicle the night before for $200 knowing full well it had been stolen, the court was told.

A police prosecutor said a male was captured on CCTV between 6.30pm and 10.30pm on January 17 making off with the SUV from a Cleveland residence, after the owner accidentally left the keys in the vehicle.

It was not suggested at court that it was Franks captured in the footage.

Matthew Paul Franks, 42, bought a stolen SUV for $200 before assaulting a prison guard, the court heard. Picture: Facebook.

On January 20 the defendant was being processed into jail when he turned violent.

The court heard he verbally abused officers despite numerous warnings and was physically escorted to a room to calm down when he tripped.

Once on his feet his tirade persisted when he turned and struck an officer with his elbow.

The victim suffered a bloody nose and experienced “extreme pain”, according to police.

Franks’ offending was aggravated for occurring while on parole for similar offending and on the back of a 10-page criminal and nine-page traffic history, the court was told.

Defence solicitor Bruce Johnstone said much of his client’s drug-fuelled offending stemmed from extreme past trauma.

Mr Johnstone noted Franks had served 106 days in pre-sentence custody, came across as an otherwise “extremely loyal” and had been rendered in effect unemployable due to PTSD.

Magistrate Deborah Vasta acknowledged the extreme trauma the defendant suffered but noted buying and driving a stolen vehicle had little to do with his past trauma.

Noting Franks was currently serving a jail term with a head sentence ending in December 1, 2024 for other matters, Ms Vasta sentenced him to three months’ prison for his assault.

For illegally using a vehicle he was sentenced to 12 months’ prison to be wholly suspended for two years.

He was further sentenced to three years’ probation and granted immediate parole release.