Brett Spits: Echuca ski-racing ‘hero’ sentenced for drug-fuelled boat heist

An Echuca ski-racing identity behind a drug-fuelled boat heist, including the theft of a V8 Supercar champion’s Malibu, has been sentenced in court.

Brett Spits of Echuca in country Victoria, arrives at court for sentencing into the theft of V8 Supercar champion Mark Winterbottom's boat. Picture : Ian Currie

An Echuca ski-racing identity behind a drug-fuelled boat heist, including the theft of a V8 Supercar champion’s Malibu, has been jailed.

Brett Allan Spits, 38, was sentenced in Melbourne’s County Court on Friday after he pleaded guilty to two charges of theft and one of handling stolen goods.

His co-accused Lincoln Mifsud, 45, also from Echuca, pleaded guilty to four counts of handling stolen goods.

Judge Sarah Dawes said the men had colluded in the criminal enterprise to rebirth and resell four stolen boats — including professional racing driver’s Mark Winterbottom’s Malibu.

Judge Dawes said while it could not be proven that Spits was the “ringleader” his co-accused Mifsud was a junior player.

But she said Mifsud was “not a passive participant” as the self-taught panel beater’s skills were essential to disguising the stolen boats.

She said Mifsud thought of Spits as a “local hero” and had met the well-known ski-racing identity six years earlier.

Judge Dawes said Spits had a history of depression and drug use, which had worsened following the collapse of his construction company.

The court heard that at the time of the boat thefts Spits was using 1g of cocaine every day and was $20,000 in debt.

Spits stole Winterbottom’s $135,000 boat from a Bundalong property carport on February 25, 2020.

When Winterbottom posted CCTV footage on social media, taken from a nearby property, one of his followers recognised the white Tray back Land Cruiser towing the boat as belonging to Spits.

The next night a separate Malibu Wakesetter and trailer, valued at $140,000, was taken from another Bundalong property.

Two other boats were stolen from Mulwala, New South Wales between January 26 and 27, including a white Malibu Wakesetter VLX, valued at $155,000, and an orange and blue Malibu Wakesetter, valued at $95,000.

On February 28, police executed search warrants at Spits’ residence and Misfud’s panel beating and spray business LWM Panels in Echuca following an anonymous tip-off.

Brett Spits was sentenced for his involvement in the boat theft.

One boat was recovered at Mifsud’s business, while the other three were found in a shed Matong Dr, Echuca.

Police spoke with the owner of the property who said Mifsud rented the shed for $390 a month.

A victim told the court they were devastated and frustrated by the theft of their boat, which they bought two months earlier.

The male victim said his sister had also been impacted by the black summer bushfires at the end of 2019 and the theft had robbed him of his plans to spend time with her.

Judge Dawes said Mifsud had already been punished by his community, having lost his business and family home.

She said the father-of-four was previously a well regarded member of the Echuca community, but following his arrest his business collapsed going from an annual turnover of $263,000 in 2019 to just $3051 in 2020.

Judge Dawes said Mifsud was living in a caravan park on JobSeeker with some limited contract work.

She said he had an “excellent” chance of rehabilitation, and sentenced him to a two-year community corrections order, which would include 350 hours of community service.

“You have avoided a term of imprisonment by the narrowest of margins,” she told Mifsud.

Spits was sentenced to two years in jail, with a non-parole period of one year and three months.