Anthony Barry: Ex bikie slashes tyres on Ballarat Road, Ashley Street in Sunshine

A former gang member reverted to his old ways when a driver didn’t take notice of his mobility scooter as he crossed a Sunshine road.

Barry was riding his mobility scooter when he said the car hit him. (Generic photo)

A former bikie slashed a man’s tyres with a knife because he claimed the driver hit his mobility scooter and didn’t stop to make sure he was OK.

Anthony Barry, 56, was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order with 50 hours’ community work at the County Court, having pleaded guilty to criminal damage and possessing cannabis.

The court heard Barry claimed a man drove into his mobility scooter at the Ballarat Rd and Ashley St intersection in Sunshine on November 9, 2018.

The driver did not stop to check Barry was OK, which caused the former bikie to fire up.

Barry followed the driver to a nearby car park and launched into an argument with the man, who denied driving into Barry’s scooter.

The court heard an enraged Barry then pulled out a knife and slashed all four of the man’s car tyres.

Barry then went into a nearby business and told staff what he had done, also claiming he was injured from the ordeal.

When police arrested Barry they found 22g of cannabis in his car on November 22, 2018.

The court heard Barry was then held in custody until December 20, having also been charged with attempted armed robbery.

But when Barry faced court in April this year, he was found not guilty of armed robbery but pleaded guilty to criminal damage.

The court heard Barry had a considerable criminal history in Victoria, WA and SA, including violent, driving, drug and weapon offences.

It was heard Barry had experienced a very disadvantaged childhood, which had impacted his life in many ways and led him to drugs and criminality early in life, landing him in anti-social circles, including outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Judge Meryl Sexton noted Barry had made efforts to live a normal life in the decade or so before the incident, but had spiralled downhill after the death of his mother six weeks before the crime.

Judge Sexton said Barry had “completely overreacted” during the incident, but his moral culpability was somewhat lessened by his dysfunctional upbringing, which had led him to use violence as a way of coping with emotional distress.

The court heard the former delivery driver had been deemed a high risk of reoffending.

Judge Sexton said she couldn’t formally recognise the amount of time Barry spent in custody while on bail, and had therefore reduced the length of the corrections order she would normally impose in the situation.