Alicia Neylan, Scott Barry Petersen, Ahmad Taha, Robert Andonovski, Ameer Sameer face Heidelberg court
A single mum who turned to meth after her father died was joined by a truckie who needed an extra lift with Viagra at Heidelberg court.
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From family dramas to Islamic traditions, Heidelberg Magistrates Court heard its share of colourful excuses for criminal behaviour.
See the latest list of guilty pleas for offences committed in northern suburbs including Bundoora, Ivanhoe, Reservoir and Wollert.
Mum uses meth while grieving dad’s death
Unemployed single mother Alicia Neylan “had a bad week” and had “relapsed into ice use” when police busted her driving in Bundoora with drugs and drug utensils in her car.
Neylan pleaded guilty to drug possession after a December 19, 2019 search found a ziplock bag containing methylamphetamine, as well as a set of scales and multiple glass pipes.
The court heard Neylan pleaded guilty to the same offence in 2018 and received a good behaviour bond.
The lawyer said Neylan started using ice when her father died, and relapsed on the anniversary of the death.
She had not used since, and had registered with a job provider to better support her seven-year-old daughter, the lawyer said.
Magistrate Timothy Hoare noted the 2019 offending occurred just two days after the expiration of the previous bond.
He accepted Neylan had not been charged with drug trafficking but said the items found in her car were “consistent with trafficking”.
“Why else would she have scales?” Mr Hoare asked, to which the lawyer responded “I can’t explain that”.
The sentence was a $550 fine without conviction, and an order to forfeit the items seized.
Mr Hoare told Neylan it would be “virtually impossible” to avoid a conviction if she were to reoffend.
Truckie enhances off-road performance
Father-of-two Scott Barry Petersen, 48, was ordered to forfeit illegally purchased erectile dysfunction medication after a police search at Fairfield.
The court heard the truck driver was taken into custody because of “outstanding whereabouts” in the early hours of September 30, 2020 and officers found on his person a clip seal bag containing brown powder later identified as Viagra.
Petersen admitted he did not have a prescription for the crushed Viagra tablets and had bought them from a sex shop.
He pleaded guilty to possessing a drug of dependence.
A defence lawyer told the court Petersen had forgotten about the Viagra after carrying it around in his wallet for months.
The court heard Petersen had relevant prior convictions including drug driving resulting in a three-year licence suspension.
The lawyer said Petersen had “struggled with meth addiction” and been “very much involved in the drug scene” in the past.
“He was involved with people who were a very bad influence, he was couch surfing, fairly unstable,” the lawyer said of the context around Petersen’s previous offending, which also included the breakdown of his marriage.
“These days, he’s in a much better situation,” the lawyer said, explaining the steps Petersen had taken to resume fully licenced truck driving work.
Mr Hoare imposed a $500 fine with a conviction recorded and ordered the drugs’ forfeiture.
Ramadan fast blamed for driving too fast
“I’m fasting, maybe I’m hungry,” was the excuse offered by security officer Ahmad Taha when police caught him driving 27km/h over the speed limit on Burke Rd North, Ivanhoe.
The court heard Taha was clocked doing 87km/h in a 60/km/h zone just before noon on April 28, 2021 and elected to have the matter go to court.
Representing himself, he pleaded guilty to speeding and explained: “It was Ramadan, I was fasting.”
“It was my first season fasting — I normally don’t fast and I thought I’d give it a go this year, and I was hungry,” he said.
The court heard Taha had three pages of prior driving and criminal convictions.
Magistrate Meagan Keogh did not accept that skipping breakfast caused his speeding.
“If it was 4.30 in the afternoon I’d believe you, but it’s only 11.50 in the morning,” she said.
Ms Keogh imposed a $454 fine and the mandatory minimum three-month licence suspension.
Mate’s job offer couldn’t wait
Robert Andonovski claimed to be chasing down a job opportunity when police caught him riding his motorcycle 87km/h over the speed limit during peak hour on a busy Reservoir road.
The court heard Andonovski’s Yamaha was clocked at 157km/h in a 70km/h zone on Mahoneys Rd about 5pm on November 14, 2019.
When police intercepted him on nearby Massey Ave and asked his reason for speeding, he replied with one word: “Stupid”.
Representing himself in court, he pleaded guilty to speeding and blamed a “lapse of concentration” for the offence.
He explained he had been out of work and experiencing “a lot of stress” including marital problems at the time.
“I was actually going to see a mate for a job opportunity at the time,” he said.
Magistrate Meagan Keogh said that was no excuse to be travelling at “really unsafe speeds”.
Andonovski said he “did not believe [he] was doing those sorts of speeds” but could not afford legal representation to fight the charge.
In sentencing, Ms Keogh noted prior convictions including recklessly causing injury and driving an unregistered motor vehicle.
She imposed an $826 fine and a 12-month licence suspension.
“It’s a pretty big lapse to be going at 157 in a 70 zone,” Ms Keogh said.
“That’s not a normal speed to be going on the roads of Melbourne, or anywhere.”
Son’s speeding secret
Former coronavirus hotline staffer Ameer Sameer had no explanation for driving at 84km/h in a 40km/h zone in June 2021, other than he was “being an idiot” and listening to music.
The court heard the 20-year-old psychology student “appeared to be substance-affected” and there was a strong smell of marijuana coming from his car when police intercepted it on Harvest Home Rd, Wollert about 8.40pm on June 1.
A search of the car found 0.35g of marijuana seeds and stems, and in an interview at Epping police station Sameer admitted he’d had the drugs in his car for more than two months.
Representing himself in court, Sameer pleaded guilty to speeding and drug possession.
He said he had been experiencing anxiety at the time of the offending because his paternal grandmother — who he had not seen since emigrating with his parents and four younger siblings to Australia in 2009 — had died overseas.
He added he had not told his family about the charges because he was from a “Middle Eastern background”.
“My parents have a lot on their plate to deal with with my younger siblings,” he said.
“I really didn’t want them to find out about the speeding.”
Magistrate Meagan Keogh dismissed the drug possession charge, but questioned how anyone could “mess up” a 40km/h zone being “so far over” the limit.
“Things can go wrong in the blink of an eye,” Ms Keogh said.
Sameer said he had “avoided fines at all costs” since the offence and had “only received one fine” after a speed camera detected him a couple of kilometres over the limit.
Ms Keogh told him “It is possible to drive your car without getting tickets –— a lot of us do it, every day”.
She fined Sameer $702 without conviction, ordered he forfeit the drugs, and suspended his licence for the mandatory minimum six months.
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