Meth-fuelled menace Takye Picken steals tradie’s ute, sparks high speed chase through Mildura

A methed-up Broken Hill man caused chaos on Mildura streets leading police on high speed chases, stealing vehicles and assaulting a woman, a court has heard.

Takye Picken led police on two separate high speed chases that saw him mount the footpath and drive on the wrong side of the road. Picture: Facebook

A meth-addled Broken Hill man drove stolen cars at extreme speeds down busy roads into oncoming traffic in Mildura, forcing police to abandon a chase and leaving victims traumatised. a court has heard.

Takye Picken fronted Mildura Magistrates’ Court to plead guilty to a stack of charges including theft, theft of a motor vehicle, drug possession, assault, making threats to kill, stalking and driving in a manner dangerous while being pursued by police.

In December last year, Picken sparked panic when he sped through streets in a Ford with fake plates, mounting footpaths as he tried to evade police.

Just one week later, he stole a tradie’s Ford Ranger loaded with expensive tools and other items from Apex Caravan Park and again drove recklessly through the city, speeding down the wrong side of busy streets as police were forced to call off the pursuit due to the extreme danger.

In a powerful victim impact statement, the tradie described the severe emotional and financial toll of losing his tools and vehicle.

Takye Picken stole a tradies work ute from Apex Caravan Park containing thousands of dollars worth of tools. Picture: Facebook

“The emotional stress (has been) extreme not only for me, but my family too,” the statement read.

The court also heard of incidents where Picken had assaulted a woman on several occasions, punching her in both the eye and the jaw, leaving her light-headed and dizzy, before making threats to burn down her mother’s house while he was waving an axe.

The woman told police she feared Picken would eventually kill her.

Picken, who was also caught multiple times with cannabis and methamphetamine, was supported in court by his partner.

Picken seemed unfazed by proceedings, sitting with his arms folded for the most part, occasionally flicking his rat’s tail.

His lawyer, Hannah Smith, advocated for Picken to be given a combination sentence containing a community corrections order (CCO) pointing out her client hadn’t had the chance to fully engage with a CCO.

Magistrate Patrick Southey sentenced Picken to eight months behind bars. He will be subject to an 18-month CCO immediately upon his release.

Ms Smith also pointed to Picken’s struggles with his methamphetamine addiction, admitting they were a big problem for her client.

Magistrate Patrick Southey told Picken that despite his age, his offending was among the most serious he had encountered, though rehabilitation was not beyond him.

“A lot of young men wake up to themselves in their mid-20s. I dearly hope you will be one of them,” Mr Southey said.

“The offending was very serious indeed, and despite your youth, protection of the community is a significant factor in the sentence I am about to hand down. You were out of control.”

Mr Southey noted he would have imposed a 12-month jail term if not for Picken’s guilty plea.

Picken was sentenced to eight months behind bars, followed by an 18-month community corrections order.

With 107 days already served, he will likely be released in mid-August this year.