Craigieburn teen jailed for armed robbery of ride sharing driver
An ice-addled Craigieburn teen has been jailed for a terrifying attack on a Didi driver which involved holding a knife to the man’s throat. But the unsophisticated crook was undone by the driver’s Find My iPhone app.
North West
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An ice-addled Craigieburn teen has been jailed for a terrifying attack on a Didi driver which involved holding a knife to his throat before stealing his mobile phone.
Jake Patton, 19, was on his way home from a night out at the Roxburgh Park Hotel on July 26 last year when he directed the ride sharing driver to the dark intersection of Canisby Way and Olrig Drive just after 2am.
The County Court heard Patton, who was a daily user of methamphetamine and cannabis at the time, then asked the driver if there were any safety cameras recording in the car.
When he said there wasn’t, Patton produced a knife, pushed it against the driver’s neck and told him not to report anything to police.
Patton then reached over and grabbed the driver’s mobile phone out of a holder on the dashboard of the car.
The driver asked him to stop but Patton pushed him, which caused a cut to his left thumb, before the teen thug got out of the car and ran away.
Patton pleaded guilty to armed robbery and committing an indictable offence while on bail.
He was sentenced to three years’ jail with a 12-month non-parole period in the County Court on April 17.
The court heard Patton came unstuck when the driver used the Find My iPhone app that showed his device at an address in Craigieburn, which turned out to be the house where the teenager lived with his parents.
Police raided the home on August 15 and found a flick knife and the driver’s phone in Patton’s bedroom.
Judge Susan Pullen described the offending as “disturbing”.
“Once in the car you saw the phone and decided you wanted it,” she told the court.
“The fact that (the victim) was confined in time and space is his car is more concerning given his limited ability to get away from you.”
The court heard Patton, who was expelled from Craigieburn Secondary College part way through Year 9, had used ice not long before committing the crime.
He will be eligible for parole in just four months after serving 246 days on remand.
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