Lila Alofia sentenced for violent Lake Haven carjacking
This teenage carjacker has offered a bizarre reason for twice punching a man in the face outside the Super Cheap Auto, Lake Haven store, and then stealing his car.
Macarthur
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A young Minto man approached a stranger to ask if he was selling his car, whilst loitering outside a Super Cheap Auto on the Central Coast in August.
A young Minto man approached a stranger to ask if he was selling his car, whilst loitering outside a Super Cheap Auto on the Central Coast in August.
When the man said he wasn’t interested, 18-year-old Lila Alofia demanded he hand over his car keys.
When he refused, Alofia punched him in the face, Campbelltown Court heard.
The 30-year-old victim fell to the ground, and Alofia punched him a second time making him drop his car keys.
Police say Alofia got behind the wheel and sped off from the Lake Haven carpark, forcing the victim and a bystander to jump out of the way.
The young man handed himself into police the next day, telling officers he had no other way of “getting back to Campbelltown”.
He was charged with aggravated take/drive motor vehicle with person in/on it – inflict actual bodily harm, and drive while unlicensed.
During sentencing, Magistrate George Breton labelled his actions as “bizarre” and were a “ridiculous explanation.”
“It’s the sort of of words you’d expect off a 12-year-old, not an 18-year-old man,” Magistrate Breton said.
The court heard Alofia had a dysfunctional upbringing and started using drugs at a young age.
He lived with his grandmother in Minto, along with his five siblings before his arrest.
His age, no prior convictions and early guilty plea were taken into consideration.
Alofia was given a 12 month term of imprisonment.
He will be assessed whether he’s suitable for home detention or an intensive corrections order in the next six weeks.