Scott Perry jailed over Whittington home invasion, false imprisonment

A convicted drug trafficker is the last to be sentenced in a group that posed as plain-clothed police officers to ransack a Whittington home and make off with cannabis, cash and cars. SEE THE VIDEO

A convicted drug trafficker has been jailed for his part in a brazen cannabis heist, in which a gang posed as plain-clothed police to ransack a Whittington home.

Scott Charles Perry, 49, appeared in the County Court on Monday and was jailed for a maximum of seven years and two months by Judge Gerard Mullaly.

Perry will be eligible for parole after five years and three months, minus 100 days reckoned as time already served.

Perry was found guilty earlier this month of 14 charges following a trial in Geelong; seven counts of theft, six counts of false imprisonment and one count of home invasion.

Judge Mullaly began his sentencing remarks by outlining the facts, as found by the jury.

Perry along with his son, Zach, his son’s then-girlfriend and another man, Ricky Wilson, posed as plain-clothed police officers in a ruse to steal cannabis growing at a home on Orbit Dr in Whittington.

The gang wore neat clothing, blue latex gloves and lanyards, and robbed two intellectually disabled brothers walking along Solar Dr in what the prosecution described as a “dress rehearsal”.

Upon arriving at the Orbit Dr home, the court heard the family’s dog was agitated and at one point, it was said Perry “threatened in a chilling way, that if the dog was not controlled, you would shoot the dog”, Judge Mullaly said.

The family were held in their living room during the ordeal, and were “convinced” the people scouring their home were police, Judge Mullaly said.

“The victims were questioned in a fashion consistent with genuine police conduct,” Judge Mullaly said.

The gang took off with cannabis, cash, jewellery and Nike shoes – as well as two cars belonging to one of the victims.

Following the home invasion, the cannabis was taken to a rural property owned by Perry and hung up to dry.

Footage of the crop taken by one of the offenders was shown to the jury during the trial and has been released by the court.

The incident left a “deep, enduring impact” on the victims, Judge Mullaly said, and the impersonation of police was an aggravating factor.

Judge Mullaly said it was an “attack” on the enforcement of law and order and “corrosive to proper values”.

The raid was well-planned and sophisticated; the gang even used a Mazda stolen in Warrnambool weeks before so it wouldn’t be traceable.

The court heard Perry’s role in the robbery was equal to that of his three co-accused.

Judge Mullaly said he took into account the sentences imposed on the others, who all pleaded guilty to lesser indictments, and noted there were factors present in those cases that didn’t apply to Perry.

Perry also had an extensive criminal history, spanning Victoria and South Australia, including convictions for drug trafficking in 2013 and 2015.

Perry had not worked since 2002 after being seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, the court heard, and continues to suffer chronic pain.

He took to using ice in about 2004 and became involved in trafficking and manufacturing the drug, Judge Mullaly said.

Judge Mullaly acknowledged Perry will “do prison harder” knowing his wife is left to care for their children.

Originally published as Scott Perry jailed over Whittington home invasion, false imprisonment