Jesse Tuitupou allegedly assaults East Bendigo stroke victim over debt

Police say an alleged ‘standover man’ with connections to the bikie underworld assaulted a physically and intellectually disabled stroke victim at East Bendigo.

Father of three Jesse Tuitupou appeared before Bendigo Magistrates Court over an alleged assault of an East Bendigo stroke victim. Picture: Facebook

An alleged ‘standover man’ and debt collector was denied bail over charges of an assault of a physically and intellectually disabled stroke victim.

Father-of-three Jesse Tuitupou appeared before Bendigo Magistrates Court via a prison video link as his lawyer appealed for bail on Wednesday.

Police prosecutions said the incident occurred the day before Valentine’s day 2021, where they alleged Tuitupou and three others arrived at an East Bendigo home.

They said CCTV footage at 6.25pm showed Tuitupou approach the house and enter.

A man inside the home attempted to hide from Tuitupou and was allegedly told to “sit down, we’re trying to sort this out”.

Tuitupou, an indigenous man, allegedly told his victim that he owed money, adding he and his brother were living on stolen land.

Tuitupou allegedly pushed the man to the ground and picked up the car keys, saying they would be claimed as part of the debt.

Police said the man attempted to stop Tuitupou from taking the keys before the alleged victim was punched in the right eye.

Police said Tuitupou, the victim and his brother all knew each other and his victim had a physical and intellectual disability following a stroke.

It was alleged Tuitupou left in the stolen car and on multiple occasions attempted to evade police.

His lawyer Karin Temperley said at one point in the night Tuitupou surrendered himself at the police station, claiming a warrant was out for his arrest.

But Ms Temperley said since a warrant had not been processed he was able to leave to “pick up a slab of beer and a pizza”.

Two hours after the alleged assault and theft, Tuitupou was tracked down and ordered to exit the vehicle by police.

He allegedly acted argumentative and hostile, threatening to shoot police and was charged with assaulting an emergency worker following his arrest.

Police alleged in court on Wednesday that, on October 21, 2020, Tuitupou had previously been caught with $500 in cash and a list of names with money values beside them.

The 31-year-old was hit with trafficking charges after police allegedly uncovered $2200 in cash and drugs from a vehicle on the same day.

Tuitupou allegedly told officers he was a debt collector, but added: “I don’t hurt anyone”.

But police prosecutions claimed Tuitupou had criminal connections to some dangerous characters, including the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.

“People who he is associating with and standing over, they’re generally very afraid of him,” police prosecutions said.

The court heard Tuitupou was also facing charges over the theft of a car from an East Bendigo business on October 1, 2020 and car registration plates from a Kangaroo Flat property on October 20.

Ms Temperley said her client was facing exceptional circumstances in prison, as he had schizophrenia, bipolar and other mental health issues which would be better treated in the community.

She said her client was trying to wean off anti-psychotic depot injections, get clean from illegal drugs, and was interested in going to rehab facility.

“I am completely over this life,” Tuitupou told the court over the prison video link.

Ms Temperley said her client could live with his uncle at Sailors Gully, but Magistrate Patrick Southey said the risk to the public was unacceptable.

“His criminal connections go beyond the rat bags we know in Bendigo,” he said.

Tuitupou was refused bail and his next court date has been set for May 10.