Ricardo Mejias hits Port Melbourne man while stealing his car

A Port Melbourne man who went to his garage after seeing a man behaving suspiciously was sent flying over the bonnet of his own car. And it’s not the only time the thief behind the incident has stealthily preyed on apartment buildings.

Ricardo Mejias drove at a man while stealing his car.

A thief who drove into a man while stealing his car has since been caught pretending to be a courier to steal from apartment buildings.

Ricardo Mejias, 23, has been sentenced on November 13 to 162 days’ jail and a 12-month corrections order at the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including five vehicle thefts.

Mejias sent a man flying over the bonnet of his own Chrysler when he stole the $35,000 car from a Port Melbourne apartment complex on April 17, 2018.

The owner had gone downstairs to check on the car after Mejias had rung the doorbell, with a set of car keys having previously been taken from his mailbox.

Upon finding Mejias driving his car, he stood in its way to make Mejias stop, but instead was sent up over the bonnet and landed about 15m away.

The court heard Mejias dressed in high-vis clothing and carried a parcel to try to convince residents he was a courier when he followed people into an Abbotsford apartment building and stole a computer on December 23, 2018.

Mejias pleaded guilty to stealing a total five vehicles, including a Mercedes, a van and a motorcycle.

He was a disqualified driver when he was seen speeding erratically through Epping with a small child unrestrained in the front passenger seat in January 2019.

Mejias also admitted to stealing customers’ identification documents and personal details from a Fitzroy North real estate agent in February and to using stolen bank cards.

When police arrested him in Watsonia in February, Mejias had multiple stolen licences and a tomahawk in the stolen can he was driving.

Lawyer Emily Metcalfe told the court her unemployed client had a four-year-old daughter and had faced periods of homelessness.

She said he was now living with his partner in Port Melbourne and had stopped using drugs.

Magistrate Stephen Ballek advised Mejias not to waste the rest of his life sitting in jail.

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