Meet Mildura’s drug and drink-driving offenders: Brendon Giles, Andrew Besgrove, and more

Hillbilly heroin, meth and drink driving – these drugged-up lunatics are putting your life at risk on Mildura’s roads.

It’s been another busy period at Mildura Magistrates’ Court for drunk and drugged-up drivers.

A man who punched his stepdad in the face after driving through his parent’s front fence, a laptop tech with a penchant for hillbilly heroin and more — these are some of the worst drug and drink driving offenders to be caught on Mildura’s roads.

Brendon Giles

A man who drove through his parent’s fence and punched his stepdad after a boozy afternoon has told a court he has stopped drinking.

Brendon Giles, 21, pleaded guilty in Mildura Magistrates’ Court on October 4 to driving in a dangerous manner while intoxicated and assault.

The court heard Giles had been attempting to move his girlfriend’s car after an afternoon of drinks in February when the trouble started.

He’d driven the car out of his parent’s driveway, straight into their front fence, causing “significant” damage to the fence and the letterbox.

He then drove down the street with his girlfriend in the car begging him to pull over while trying to call his parents.

He eventually stopped and grabbed his girlfriend’s phone and threw it on the ground, before pushing her to the ground.

The pair returned to the house, where Giles got into a fight with his stepdad.

His mother and girlfriend tried to separate the men, leaving both Giles’ parents injured.

Giles later blew a blood alcohol reading of 0.19.

The court heard Giles had quit drinking and smoking since the offending, in an attempt to turn his life around.

He was disqualified from driving for 25 months, fined $800 and convicted.

Andrew Besgrove

A Mildura tradie has told a court he was afraid of his tools getting stolen when he drink-drove on a disqualified licence.

Andrew Besgrove, 57, pleaded guilty in Mildura Magistrates Court on October 10 to driving unlicensed and driving over the limit.

Police saw him driving unlicensed on June 2 at 10.30pm where he also blew 0.0137 – unlicensed drivers are required to have a blood alcohol reading of 0.00.

Besgrove’s lawyer Hugh Middleton told the court his client wouldn’t have driven if not in fear of his tools being stolen.

“He wasn’t planning to drive but he had expensive equipment in the back of his ute, and he saw some people he believed to be the culprits of an earlier theft,” Mr Middleton said.

Besgrove was fined $986.70 and his licence was cancelled for 13 months.

Ignatius Michael Alvanos

Michael Alvanos was caught with a large amount of hillbilly heroin after being convicted of dealing meth.

A Mildura phone and laptop technician with priors dealing meth has been busted driving an e-scooter through suburbia with a stash of “hillbilly heroin”.

Ignatius Michael Alvanos pleaded guilty in Mildura Magistrates Court on September 15 to carrying a controlled weapon and possessing oxycodone.

Police saw Alvanos riding an electric scooter on October 22 last year without a helmet on.

Alvanos argued with police and initially refused to stop.

In a search police found eight 20mg oxycodone tablets and a WoLF-branded knife.

Alvanos claimed he had a prescription for the drugs, which Magistrate Michael Coghlan referred to as “hillbilly heroin”.

“Carrying around hillbilly heroin, not bad for a bloke that’s got a history in relation to trafficking meth and the like,” Mr Coghlan said.

Alvanos was convicted and fined $300 for drug possession and $500 for the possessing the knife.

Daniel Prevedello

Daniel Prevedello pleaded guilty in Mildura Magistrates’ Court after “truly alarming” offending.

A Mildura mechanic caught driving an unroadworthy and unregistered car while unlicensed with meth has fronted court.

Daniel Prevedello, 36, pleaded guilty in the Mildura Magistrates’ Court on February 14 to unlicensed driving, driving an unregistered vehicle, driving an unroadworthy car and driving with “Christmas” meth.

Prevedello was caught on December 7 last year by police, who also found 8.2g of meth in his possession.

The mechanic told police he was planning to use the drugs for the Christmas period.

Magistrate Patrick Southey said the offending was “truly alarming”.

“Drugs are ruining your life, you’ve been found in possession of a large amount,” he said.

“You’ve got to get your act together.”

Prevedello was ordered to complete a community corrections order and fined a further $250 for driving the unroadworthy vehicle.