Guiseppe Trifilo fronts court after ramming cop car at Maribyrnong

A drug addict with an appalling criminal history has come up with an unbelievable excuse for using a stolen vehicle to repeatedly ram a cop car.

Drug addict Guiseppe Trifilo said he rammed into a police car three times as he thought he was being robbed. Picture: Supplied

A drug addict has come up with a bizarre explanation for repeatedly ramming a police car with a stolen vehicle during a traffic stop— he thought he was being robbed.

Guiseppe Trifilo slammed a stolen Toyota into a police car three times before driving a short distance and being arrested.

A number of drugs, including MDMA, methylamphetamine and cannabis, were discovered in his possession and in the car.

The drama happened on Chiefly Dr at Maribyrnong about 6am on September 30, 2023 when two police officers were conducting traffic patrol.

Trifilo pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated reckless exposure of an emergency worker, theft of a car, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and possession of a drug of dependence.

He was sentenced in the County Court on Thursday to 18 months’ imprisonment with a minimum non-parole of 12 months.

Judge Wendy Wilmoth said Trifilo yelled at a police officer in a patrol car to f---- off before he reversed the Corolla into the police vehicle at speed.

Guiseppe Trifilo was arrested a short distance away from where he repeatedly rammed into a police car at Maribyrnong. Picture: iStock / Getty Images

One of the officers then yelled at Trifilo to get out of the car and attempted to use an OC spray to subdue him.

Trifilo then rammed the police car twice more before making a u-turn and driving away.

He stopped about 350m away and was arrested.

MDMD and methylamphetamine were found in his possession and cannabis in the car which belonged to a rental car company and had been reported stolen six weeks earlier.

Judge Wilmoth said Trifilo’s explanation to his lawyer and a psychologist was that he had been under the influence of drugs and had not slept for several days when the incident happened.

“When police approached you in the car and sprayed you, you thought you were being robbed and the collision occurred. You said you regretted it and it should not have happened,” Judge Wilmoth said.

The judge highlighted his extensive criminal history dating back to 1992 when he was just 19 years old.

Trifilo’s driving history — including 20 prior convictions for driving without a licence — was one of the worst driving records Judge Wilmoth said she had ever seen.

His longest jail sentence was four years for armed robbery and Trifilo has breached 11 of the 16 community corrections orders that had been imposed.

He told a psychologist that, having spent a year in custody, he was no longer interested in drugs and felt guilty at being unable to help look after his cancer-stricken elderly father and brother who had cerebral palsy.

His nephew Joseph Trifilo wrote to court, describing the deterioration in his father’s health and the difficulty their family had in caring for him which would be considerably alleviated by Trifilo’s presence at home.

But Judge Wilmoth said she was not satisfied that exceptional circumstances applied to warrant a non-custodial sentence, given the seriousness of the offence, Trifilo’s long criminal history and poor compliance with court orders.