Andrew Merchan breaks into house on Plenty Rd, Reservoir
A Reservoir father of three young children used a didgeridoo to fight a man he found climbing through his bedroom window. He left the intruder, who had only been released from jail hours earlier, with head injuries.
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A Reservoir dad used a didgeridoo to fight a man he found climbing through his bedroom window at night.
The intruder, who had only been released from jail hours earlier, had to be hospitalised for head injuries following the incident, Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court heard.
Andrew Merchan fronted the court on Tuesday, August 4, having been held in custody since he was caught breaking into the home on Plenty Rd, Reservoir on May 26.
The court heard a couple and their three children, aged 4, 6 and 11, were home when the father heard a rustling noise coming from his bedroom just before 10pm.
Senior Constable Jean-Philippe Britt said when he walked into the room to investigate, he heard someone partially falling out the window, then opened the blinds to find Merchan leaning out the window, with his leg still inside the house.
When questioned, Merchan responded, “Wrong house. I thought it was the hostel” and fled.
The man and his partner then went outside and heard a shaking noise at the side of the house, like someone trying to take off a fly screen, the court heard.
Senior Constable Britt said the man went and grabbed a didgeridoo, fearing for his family’s safety.
He went back outside and saw the man leaving his next door neighbour’s front yard, saying. “Sorry, wrong house.”
The father called out, “The police are on their way. You better stay here, you broke into my house,” before Merchan walked away.
The court heard the pair got into a physical altercation, leading to Merchan’s blood getting on the didgeridoo before he got away.
Police arrived to find Merchan nearby the street, bleeding from the head.
He had a brand new phone in its box in his underwear and two gloves in his pockets and was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for treatment.
The court heard he had only been released from an 86-day jail sentence and placed onto a community corrections order about 10am on the day of the incident.
His lawyer, Matt McLellan, said Merchan denied he entered the house, with the only evidence that he got inside being the resident’s statement.
Mr McLellan said his client was staying in a squat next-door to the house and had taken alcohol and a drug prior to the incident.
He said the fact Merchan had to be hospitalised for a night had served as some kind of extra-curial punishment, and that he had spent a significant amount of time in isolation in custody due to the risk of COVID-19.
Merchan pleaded guilty to burglary and dealing property suspected of being proceeds of crime after Magistrate Helen Murphy indicated she would sentence him to three-months jail, with 70 days having already been served.
Ms Murphy said she hoped he would get out and make the use of the support of his corrections order.
“The last time you were released things went spectacularly badly for you,” she said.
The father did not face any charges.
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