Coronavirus Melbourne: Man busted by police on dodgy toilet paper run
A man caught out at night with a knife and a syringe claimed he was on his way to his aunt’s house to get toilet paper. Police didn’t like his excuse for not being home, but a magistrate decided to reduce the full $1652 fine.
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A man pulled up by police riding his bicycle in Reservoir in the early hours of the morning while carrying a knife and a syringe told police he was going to his aunt’s to get toilet paper.
The excuse wasn’t enough to stop Daniel Walters, 40, being charged with breaching the new social distancing laws as he was taken into custody for a series of other offences.
But luckily for him, the usual $1652 fine for violating the chief health officer’s advice to stay home was significantly discounted when his case was heard at Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
The father of four went before the court after he was picked up on Strathmerton St in the early hours of yesterday.
The court Walters was riding his bicycle on the footpath without a helmet, and sped up when he saw police.
When police caught up with him they found his backpack contained a kitchen knife, syringe, two car keys and a small bottle inside a sharps container believed to contain GHB.
Walters, who was on a community corrections order at the time, was taken to Heidelberg police station.
Leading Senior Constable Jeff Stewart said Walters told the police that he’d found the knife in a garden bed and that the syringe was for injecting methamphetamine.
He reportedly told police he didn’t know how the keys got in his backpack, and said he was out visiting a friend who lived in Reservoirs then was going to his aunt’s house to get some toilet paper.
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After hearing Walters was on the disability pension and living in public housing, Magistrate Helen Murphy said she wasn’t going to impose the $1652 fine for breaching social isolation laws.
“You should really get a discount for having extra offences, shouldn’t you?” she said.
“Well, arguably he was out for an essential purpose.”
Ms Murphy handed him an aggregate fine of $800 for all the charges before the court with a conviction, taking into account he had spent the rest of the night in custody.
She ordered him to forfeit the knife, keys and GHB to police.