Marley Mathews high on drugs when he tried to climb Geelong’s Christmas tree, ferry, court heard

Details of Marley Mathews’ bizarre start to 2021 were aired in court this week. His crimes also include a frightening robbery of a St Albans Park home while its occupants were inside.

Marley Mathews faced the Geelong Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

A 23-year-old with a “raging drug addiction” who tried to climb Geelong’s floating Christmas tree to get his new year started, and who police found with a drug and a knife, was jailed for eight months this week.

Marley Mathews fronted the Geelong Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he previously pleaded guilty to multiple counts of burglary when a person was present, theft, attempted theft, committing an indictable offence on bail and failing to appear in court on a bail date.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis, another drug and a weapon.

The court heard a member of the public called triple-0 about 5am on January 1, 2021 to report a person in Corio Bay attempting to climb the barge carrying the floating Christmas tree.

When police arrived at the waterfront they found Mathews climbing a nearby ferry.

He was searched and police found cannabis and a gold folding knife in his red satchel bag.

Mathews, a former roof tiler from Whittington, also faced court for a bungled robbery of an East End Crt, St Albans Park home about 4am on May 28 this year.

The court was told Mathews and an accomplice attempted to kick the front door down and remove a security door from its hinges at the home, and later got into the house by forcing a backdoor. Multiple people were home at the time.

One of the occupants called police as she hid in her room during the ordeal.

Police arrived while Mathews, and a co-accused, were still in the house and arrested the pair.

Mathews’ jail sentence also relates to thefts from Savage St, Belmont on December 2, 2020; from a construction site in Derrimut Rd, Hoppers Crossing on February 24, 2022 and from a Britannia St, Geelong West home on March 10, 2022.

Magistrate Franz Holzer said time in jail would allow Mathews to “air out” because of a “raging drug addiction” he’d had for some time.

“You are looking down the barrel of being institutionalised,” Mr Holzer told Mathews.

He warned Mathews to stay off drugs but conceded if prisoners “look hard enough” drugs were available in jail.

Mathews will return to court in March next year for monitoring.

“I am going to monitor you (once you are released from jail into the community) because I think supervision from the court will be beneficial for you and the community.

“You’ll know, and I will know, by then if you are fair dinkum.”

Mathews will be on a community corrections order when he is released that will contain programs to reduce his risk of reoffending, and treat his drug addiction.

Mathews has served 65 days on remand.

Originally published as Marley Mathews high on drugs when he tried to climb Geelong’s Christmas tree, ferry, court heard