Wonthaggi criminals: Nicholas Hickey, Alex Hamilton, Joshua Moulder

From dangerous driving and unlawful assault to cannabis growing and attempted armed robbery, here are some of Wonthaggi’s worst criminals.

Wonthaggi’s worst crooks.

Wonthaggi is one of the busiest towns in the Bass Coast.

It’s home to historic pubs, four supermarkets and the famous State Coal Mine but it’s also a place where criminals lurk.

Here are some of Wonthaggi’s worst crooks and the crimes they committed.

Nicholas Hickey

A woman was left with crippling insomnia and PTSD after a Wonthaggi man threatened her with a gun which he fired after she refused to hand over her car keys.

Nicholas Hickey, 22, pleaded guilty at the County Court on July 2 to charges including theft, attempted armed robbery and possessing a drug of independence.

The court heard Hickey pointed a gun at two family members, including the woman, when he tried to steal her car in Inverloch on May 17, 2020.

First, the Hickey pointed the gun at a man who refused to hand over the keys.

The man fled to a neighbour’s house.

When the woman came out, Hickey also pointed the gun at her before firing a shot in an unknown direction.

The court also heard Hickey stormed through a house in Wonthaggi on May 11 2020.

He began threatening another victim with a taser and demanded he hand over his clothes, car keys, house keys and phone.

Hickey said he would return the items if the victim paid him $500 within 24 hours.

In a police interview, Hickey said he went to the house to get drugs.

Hickey’s barrister Gordon Chisholm said the man had battled with substance abuse problems.

Judge John Smallwood said there were consequences for this type of offending.

Hickey was sentenced to three and a half years in prison with a non-parole period of 21 months.

Craig Fitzgerald

Craig Fitzgerald.

A cowboy hat wearing Wonthaggi man who drove through a farm fence before blowing over two times the legal limit, got into an argument with police over a cigarette.

Craig Fitzgerald, 53, pleaded guilty in the Korumburra Magistrates’ Court in November 2020 to damaging property, unlawful assault, careless driving, drink-driving and resisting police.

The court heard on January 11, Fitzgerald stayed at his mum’s house overnight and the next day asked his mum’s next door neighbour for a cigarette.

The victim said no and Fitzgerald became aggressive and picked up two chairs and threw one at the victim’s window.

Fitzgerald yelled “just give me a f**king smoke” and used abusive language towards the victim before he left.

On January 15, Fitzgerald drove through a farm fence on Strzelecki Highway in Driffeld.

Fitzgerald’s car was damaged and after exiting the vehicle, Fitzgerald was seen drinking a can of VB.

Police conducted a breath test at Morwell Police Station a short time later and it came back with a reading of 0.101 grams of alcohol.

After finishing the test, Fitzgerald was told he was under arrest and started to raise his voice at police.

Fitzgerald threw his cowboy hat towards the door and attempted to walk away.

He resisted the police officer and was restrained on the ground.

Magistrate Jacinta Studham said Fitzgerald was “manic” and “unwell” with a mental health diagnosis at the time of the incidents.

Fitzgerald’s licence was cancelled and disqualified for a minimum period of 10 months.

He was also ordered to pay $30 for the broken chair.

Paul Mackay

A Wonthaggi man who was busted with a large quantity of cannabis plants in his backyard said he grew them himself so he didn’t have to associate with other dealers.

Paul Mackay, 47, pleaded guilty at Korumburra Magistrates’ Court in December 2020 to charges including cultivating a narcotic plant and using a drug of dependence namely cannabis.

The court heard three months prior to police attending Mackay’s property on October 14, 2019 the Wonthaggi man grew a large amount of cannabis plants.

He placed cannabis seeds in a container of water for germination then used 63 pots containing garden soil to plant the seeds.

He regularly watered the plants and placed them in a sunny position in his backyard.

On October 14, Mackay used one of cannabis leaves to roll up a joint and smoke it.

At 8.50am police searched his house and found 63 cannabis plants that were 12cm high in his backyard.

Mackay’s lawyer Meaghan Crouch said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a brain injury after falling off a roof.

Ms Crouch said Mackay has previously tried to grow cannabis in his early 20s.

“He grew it on this occasion because he didn’t have any friends in Wonthaggi and he didn’t want to associate with people dealing cannabis so he decided to grow it himself,” she said.

Mackay was placed on an adjourned undertaking for a period of two years.

Joshua Moulder

Joshua Moulder

A Wonthaggi man who caused a serious crash that left a prominent Gippsland lawyer hospitalised was jailed.

Joshua Moulder, 30, pleaded guilty at Korumburra Magistrates’ Court on May 19 to multiple charges including dangerous driving, refusing to undergo a drug test and possessing a prohibited weapon, ice and ecstasy.

The court heard witnesses saw Moulder driving erratically in Yarragon on February 15, 2020.

He failed to stop at traffic lights and ran into the rear of a car that was stationary.

Moulder appeared to be affected by drugs and was confrontational towards police when they arrived at the scene.

Police searched his car and found knuckle dusters, ice and ecstasy.

Moulder refused to undergo a drug test, saying “take my f**king licence, I really don’t care”.

The victim — a Gippsland lawyer — was hospitalised.

The lawyer said in her victim impact statement that she had “suffered significantly”.

Moulder’s lawyer Stacey Stanley said the man struggled with drug addiction.

“That is going to be the battle,” Ms Stanley said.

“If he doesn’t stop using methamphetamine, he will no doubt find himself spending the rest of his life in and out of custody.”

Ms Stanley said there were “significant events” in Moulder’s life that had motivated him to turn his life around such as the death of his dad and partner’s pregnancy.

Moulder was sentenced to six months imprisonment and had his licence cancelled and disqualified for three years.

He was also fined $1500.

Samara Roulent

A woman who damaged a ute and smashed a window at a Wonthaggi property was given an adjourned undertaking and was requested to donate $500 to the court.

Samara Roulent, 28, pleaded guilty at Korumburra Magistrates’ Court on April 22 to three charges of intentionally causing criminal damage

The court heard Roulent and a man had a dispute at a Wonthaggi house on February 20, 2019.

Roulent shouted at the man and requested him to leave the premises.

She became physically aggressive and kicked the base of the veranda which caused damage to the house.

The man tried to restrain her in an attempt to calm her down but she kicked him instead.

The court also heard Roulent damaged a ute in 2019, and threw a stone which smashed a window at a Wonthaggi house in 2020.

Roulent’s lawyer Tegan Murley said the woman suffered from extreme anxiety and depression.

“She had quite poor mental health, particularly at the time of the offending,” Ms Murley said.

Alex Hamilton

Alex Hamilton

A Wonthaggi cricketer who sexually violated a 15-year-old girl, while holding her down after she said no, was jailed in June.

Alex Hamilton, 26, was sentenced to a minimum of 14 months’ jail before the County Court on June 29, having pleaded guilty to a rolled-up charge of sexual penetration of a child under 16.

Hamilton sexually assaulted his victim after he convinced the girl to watch a movie at his house.

The fiend touched the girl but the victim flatly refused Hamilton’s advances.

“No … It’s not happening,” the victim said.

Hamilton then grabbed the girl’s wrists, pulled down her pants and sexually violated the girl.

Hamilton stopped after several minutes, turned his victim over and violated her again, the court was told.

Hamilton stopped after his victim asked him to stop but he prevented the girl from leaving.

The victim later told her mum and a friend she had been raped, the court was told.

Hamilton told a friend that “she wanted it” and denied “forcing himself “on the victim or “anything like that”.

Hamilton said the “sexual intercourse ceased” when the victim said “stop” but believed the girl was a “bit nervous”.

“I think she was, like, 16 at the time, or something like that,” Hamilton told police.

Hamilton, who sat with head in his hands for most of the hearing, was sentenced to a maximum of two years’ and two months’ jail.

Vanessa Anderson

A Wonthaggi mum landed herself on the ground and in trouble after trying to break free from police grip.

Vanessa Anderson, 45, pleaded guilty at Korumburra Magistrates’ Court on March 18 to charges including resisting an emergency worker and theft.

On October 16, Anderson was arrested outside Wonthaggi Magistrates’ Court.

Two police officers established an escort hold on her and attempted to walk her to the police station but Anderson attempted to break their grip and yelled at the officers.

This caused Anderson to lose her balance causing her to fall to the ground.

She was then handcuffed and escorted to the station.

The court also heard Anderson was spotted in the backyard of a Wonthaggi house where a person was present on February 22, 2020.

Anderson threw part of a bike at the house and left with a wheel.

On March 5, police found Anderson but she resisted arrest by attempting to run away from the officers.

Anderson’s lawyer Shae Holmes said mental health was a “key factor” in Anderson’s offending.

Magistrate Ann Collins said the offending was serious.

Anderson was sentenced to 14 days imprisonment and an undertaking to the court to engage in counselling for mental health issues and drug use.

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