Clarinda man’s brazen move to steal car from Mt Waverley street
A Clarinda criminal with a 66-page rap sheet thought he had a nifty way of getting stolen vehicles delivered straight to his door — but a stupid mistake ensured the plan was short lived.
Leader
Don't miss out on the headlines from Leader . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Clarinda man with a “bleak” criminal history has fronted court over his enterprising car-theft manoeuvre.
Daut Handanovic, 37, hired a tow truck to pick up a 2008 Holden Calais worth $10,000 which had been parked outside its owner’s Mt Waverley home but forgot to hide his identity.
Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court heard Handanovic gave the tow truck company his own name and said he owned the car but had lost the key, giving the driver permission to drag the vehicle the 10km to his home and paying him $249 cash for the job.
Handanovic then replaced the locks on the stolen vehicle and swapped its number plates with ones on his Holden Berlina.
During interview he told police he had bought the car for $5000 from “Marco from the western suburbs”.
Handanovic, who has a 66-page rap sheet of prior offences, pleaded guilty to a handling stolen goods charge over the September 2018 incident, as well as admitting to a separate theft charge for stealing two LG televisions worth $4000 each from Cabrini Hospital in Malvern in January last year.
The court heard police searched Handanovic’s home after he listed one of the TVs for sale on Gumtree.
He also pleaded guilty to traffic offences, including speeding, driving while unlicensed and drug-driving.
Handanovic’s defence lawyer told the court his client had been released from jail about 18 months ago and “that’s the longest time he’s been out since he was 18 years old”.
“Every single year between 2001 and 2018 he’s spent some time in custody,” he said.
“He’s sick of it and it shows in the progress he’s made — in the history of this man, it’s progress the likes of which hasn’t been seen for two decades.”
MORE:
CHARITY SHOPS REOPEN AFTER RECORD DONATIONS
WEEKS-OLD KITTEN SEVERELY INJURED IN SUSPECTED ATTACK
INNER SOUTH JOB LOSSES REAL COST OF LOCKDOWN
Handanovic has also spent time in rehab for heroin addiction, the court heard.
His lawyer urged Magistrate Stephen Lee to consider a non-custodial sentence so his client could “continue to change” his ways.
Magistrate Stephen Lee said if Handanovic was found suitable, he would consider sentencing him to a “heavily punitive community corrections order with therapeutic options”, including drug counselling.
“You have a fairly bleak criminal history … (but) this could be a chance for you to take a different path,” he said.
Handanovic will be assessed for a community corrections order.