Jamie Hancock faces Ballarat County Court for bashing woman, stealing cars, fleeing police

A Ballarat man falsely imprisoned a driver as he fled from the police after stealing five cars from an agriculture business during a wild crime spree.

Jamie Hancock stole multiple cars from a Ballarat business in late 2023. Picture: File

A violent Ballarat thug bashed a woman, stole five cars, and falsely imprisoned a driver as he tried to escape police during a wild crime spree.

Jamie Hancock, 32, faced Ballarat County Court on Tuesday having pleaded guilty to a suite of charges over his conduct in the final months of 2023.

The court heard that in November 2023, Hancock got into an argument with a woman at a Sebastopol home and snuck into her room as she slept to cut up her lingerie.

In December, he went to the house and was let in after threatening to kick the door in.

Hancock followed the woman to the bathroom and ended up punching the side of her head and hitting her several times to the point she was “seeing stars”.

A housemate heard the victim screaming for help, but Hancock had left before police arrived.

Through a statement read to the court, the woman said she now had constant panic attacks, insomnia, and headaches.

Hancock will face court again in March. Picture: File

Less than a fortnight later, Hancock stole five cars from Precision Agriculture in Ballarat, arriving about midnight with a co-offender and using a jimmy bar to break into the business’s office area and take some 20 sets of keys.

The pair took five cars parked at the premises, two of which were found in Creswick State Forest.

Police encountered Hancock at Canadian State Forest and he fled, ramming a Toyota HiLux through a gate and driving over stop sticks.

As officers pursued him on Joseph St, Hancock drove on the wrong side of the road, threw a wrench socket at a police car’s windows, and swerved towards one of the police vehicles, hitting the driver’s side mirror.

On Otway St in Ballarat East, he then approached a car with a woman inside, got in, cast aside a baby seat, and told the occupant to drive him elsewhere.

When the woman noticed the police nearby and asked Hancock if they were looking for him, he said: “Keep f--ing driving.”

Once he exited the car, the woman called triple-0.

Police arrested Hancock in Winter Valley on New Year’s Day 2024.

The case will continue on March 11 in Melbourne.

Hancock has spent 399 days in custody.