Bossley Park: Jubilee Mulitalo charged over police pursuit
Four males — including three minors — have been arrested after allegedly leading police on a high-speed pursuit in stolen cars through western Sydney before they crashed.
Fairfield
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A man already on bail has been charged for his role in a pursuit that only ended after police called in a helicopter to search for him throughout the expansive western Sydney parklands, a court has heard.
Jubilee Mulitalo’s lawyer applied for him to be granted bail in Fairfield Local Court on Monday, March 23.
Mulitalo, a 20-year-old from Sadlier, had been arrested the night before after being a passenger in a car that allegedly tried to evade police at twice the speed of local streets in southwest Sydney.
Police were responding to a call about two stolen cars in Bossley Park when they spotted one of them — a Toyota Corolla — driving in Wetherill Park yesterday.
They directed the 15-year-old driver to stop on The Horsley Drive, but he allegedly sped away with his three other passengers, hitting speeds of 140km/h in a 70km/h zone.
The pursuit evolved into a foot chase when the car hit a kerb at the intersection of Cowpasture and Restwell roads, Bossley Park. The four males — including Mulitalo, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old — ran towards the Western Sydney Parklands, the city’s largest urban park system, where they split up.
Police called for backup — the Polair helicopter and the dog unit — to help secure the arrest. They found two males in the parkland, a third in Comin St, Abbotsbury and the fourth at a bus stop on Stockdale Cres, Abbotsbury.
The 15-year-old driver has been charged with three offences and is scheduled to appear in a children’s court on May 4.
Mulitalo presented to Fairfield Local Court today facing six charges, including be carried in conveyance - taken without consent of owner, enter vehicle or boat without consent of owner/occupier, drive conveyance taken without consent of owner, drive motor vehicle while licence suspended, and two counts of dishonestly obtain property by deception.
Although he was being held in a holding cell at Fairfield Police Station, he appeared in court over audiovisual link, as per new protocols to help limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The application filed for his release was opposed by the police prosecution, who said he was already serving a community release order for two offences that took place late last year.
“He has a very short criminal record, but one that started recently,” the court heard said.
“The prosecution’s concerns are for community safety.
“He is driving motor vehicles while not licenced. He’s also stealing motor vehicles … he’s using stolen credit cards to pay for a number of items.”
The defence said Mulitalo was young at 20 and could be rehabilitated without needing to be held in custody. They argued for tighter bail conditions and said there’s a chance a guilty conviction wouldn’t necessarily lead to jail time.
Magistrate Suzanne Seagrave took the lunch break to consider the arguments before handing down her decision.
“The current information demonstrates he has failed, refused or neglected to comply with his (existing) bail conditions,” she said, noting he had breached a curfew condition three times within the last week.
“The issue is (whether) that concern rose to an unacceptable risk.”
Magistrate Seagrave concluded the risks to the community could be mitigated with tougher conditions.
She described a $500 security bond proposed by the defence as insufficient and set it at $2000.
Mulitalo will also have to report to Liverpool Police station twice a week, abide by a curfew and abstain from drugs and alcohol.
“He breaches any of the conditions … and the likelihood of him obtaining a further granted bail I would’ve thought is very low indeed,” Ms Seagrave said.
Mulitalo’s case is scheduled to return to Fairfield Local Court on April 6.
The 15-year-old and 14-year-old passengers were dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.
Police are still searching for a second car, a 2018 Toyota Rav4 in grey with licence plate EBO.63U. Anyone who sees the car is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.