Jordan Findlay arrested in Montmorency with car keys in his undies
Police thought they had their man, but when they caught up with him he was in an Uber. However, it was what was in his jocks that hand him fronting court
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An unlicensed Mernda man, who was allegedly seen by police driving a car, was later arrested in an Uber and was found to have car keys in his undies.
Jordan Findlay was arrested in Montmorency on Wednesday, March 25, after police allegedly saw him driving an unregistered Kia bearing stolen number plates while he was on a disqualified licence.
The 26-year-old fronted Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, March 26, to apply for bail, having been arrested while he was already on bail for alleged thefts.
The court heard police saw Findlay allegedly driving the Kia at a fast speed through Montmorency about 9pm.
Less than 30 minutes later, police intercepted Findlay and his girlfriend travelling in an Uber about 300m from where they’d left the Kia.
Leading Senior Constable Lee-anne Meade told the court when Findlay was being searched at the police station he reached into his underwear and pulled out keys for the car.
She said he allegedly told police he had been driving the car while he was unlicensed, but said the car wasn’t stolen and had been given to him by a friend.
Findlay’s lawyer, Mr Burton, told the court his client obviously hadn’t checked the number plates or the registration upon borrowing the car.
“It’s not something you expect someone to do when they borrow a car from a friend,” he said.
“But he hasn’t got a leg to stand on in terms of disqualified driving.”
The court heard Findlay was also facing charges for stealing two motor vehicles, stealing from motor vehicles and possessing stolen goods, after police raided his property on January 23.
Leading Sen-Constable Meade said when police went to search the property, the owner of an adjoining property gave them permission to search her place, where they found Findlay and his girlfriend sleeping alongside allegedly stolen items.
Police allegedly found a storage box containing a series of fake IDs and stolen passports, two sets of car keys, including the keys to a Mazda stolen during a home burglary in Oak Park on January 8, and a stolen pendant.
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While prosecution pushed for Findlay to be kept in custody, Magistrate Murphy agreed to release him with stricter bail conditions, citing the delay being placed on the courts by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Any period on remand might exceed the penalty you could expect to receive when the matters are heard in court,” she said.
Ms Murphy gave Findlay a curfew and banned him from speaking to his girlfriend, who was alleged to be his co-accused in the alleged crimes.