Bendigo bikies: Dustan Read warned to avoid ‘miserable short life’

A magistrate prophesied a California Gully man would lead a “miserable, short life” if he continued a path towards Bendigo’s bikie underworld.

A young man with tear drop tattoos under his eye has been warned he would lead a “miserable, short life” if he continued his path towards Bendigo’s bikie underworld.

California Gully man Dustan Read was arrested, covered in dried blood, in an Epsom woman’s backyard on October 26, 2020.

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old appeared before Bendigo Magistrate’s Court and pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, breaching his bail and driving offences in 2020.

Court documents reveal on the morning of Read’s arrest an Epsom man was woken by his partner, who thought she heard someone inside their house.

When the man went down to his garage he realised his chainsaw was missing.

Standing in his front yard an unknown man passed the chainsaw to Read.

When the Epsom man asked them to leave, Read attempted to start up the saw, threatening him with the stolen tool.

Read abandoned the chainsaw in the long grass and returned to challenge the Epsom man to a fight before running off.

Documents reveal later that day police received a panicked phone call from a woman who had locked herself in her house as a blood-covered stranger played darts in her backyard.

At 12.45pm the woman found Read in her backyard with dried bloody tracks down both his arms.

The woman locked herself and hid in her home as the intoxicated man yelled and tapped on the glass sliding door, court documents show.

Read was arrested 15 minutes later and police found a gold Nixon branded watch, blood stained razor blades, unidentified white pills.

He was taken to Bendigo Hospital and then to Bendigo police station where he tried to fight officers and was pepper sprayed.

According to court documents, Read denied to police helping steal the chainsaw, blaming his identical “double banger” for the crime.

“He looks exactly like me but he doesn’t have tear drops,” Read told police.

Read was on bail for driving January 2020 charges when he was arrested in the Epsom backyard.

Bendigo Highway Patrol said the unlicensed driver was captured on CCTV hooning around Bendigo, doing burnouts, running red lights, speeding and drifting through intersections between January 3 and January 15.

The California Gully man pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to six months in prison followed by an 18-month community corrections order, which would include judicial supervision, mental health, drugs and alcohol programs.

Magistrate Patrick Southey warned the 25-year-old to stay away from his bikie associates.

“They’re the biggest losers in the community,” Mr Southey said.

“If you get into trouble again you will go to jail.

“If you follow that path you’ll lead a miserable short life.”

Mr Southey said he hoped Read’s brush with the courts would scare him onto the right path.

“I’d like to think talking to me would change your life,” he said.

“(You could) suddenly wake up to yourself.”