Melbourne dad facing jail time for theft runs off from court

A Melbourne dad facing serious criminal charges decided to leave court before he could be sentenced, as his lawyer said he was “too anxious”.

Heath Mcintosh pleaded guilty to 16 charges at Heidelberg Magistrates Court, but ran away before he could be sentenced.

A Melbourne dad facing jail time after pleading guilty to 16 charges has failed to front court to be sentenced, with his lawyer claiming he was “too anxious” to return.

Heath Mcintosh pleaded guilty to various charges including possession of multiple prohibited weapons, evading police while doing 150 km/h under the influence of meth and stealing thousands of dollars, at Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on March 15, but found the prospect of answering for his crimes too much to handle.

The court heard Mcintosh was involved in a major burglary of a Wollert real estate office in 2021, where he stole two 65 inch televisions, an Eftpos terminal and a Surface studio tablet.

The stolen Eftpos machine was then used to steal $2700 by refunding cash onto Mcintosh’s bank card.

He also participated in a second burglary of a home in Mill Park where he stole several credit cards.

The South Morang man then attempted to use the stolen cards to go on an online shopping spree for hundreds of dollars worth of car accessories.

But Mcintosh was tracked down by police when he used his own phone number, email and home address to order the purchases with the stolen cards.

The court also heard that Mcintosh engaged police in a high speed chase through South Morang when he was caught doing 150km/h in an 80 km/h zone.

When he finally stopped his car, a drug test showed he was positive for methamphetamine and he had a flick knife in the car door.

He was also driving an unregistered vehicle with a disqualified licence and stolen number plates.

When Magistrate Meagan Keogh asked Mcintosh to explain why he evaded the police, he revealed his two teenage daughters were in the car with him.

Defence lawyer for Mcintosh, Morgaan Blazina, said Mcintosh had struggled with a relapse into an amphetamine addiction after his father died in 2020 and his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

She said he was the sole carer for his two teenage daughters, aged 12 and 15, who lived with him and his mother.

Ms Keogh said the pressure of family death and parental responsibilities were no excuse for bad behaviour.

“Lots of people have caring responsibilities but they manage to do it without speeding, driving without a licence or obtaining money they‘re not entitled to,“ Ms Keogh said.

“If his children were his first priority, he wouldn't be out driving, going 150 km/h in an 80 zone, he would pull over for police and he wouldn’t have weapons on him.

“If he doesn't address these issues. He’s going to end up in jail.”

Mcintosh was due to be sentenced in court during the afternoon session, but failed to appear after his lawyer said he was “too anxious” to come back.

Ms Keogh said she had to issue a warrant for his arrest.

“I think that shows a serious disrespect for this process if he can’t come back and face what he’s done,” she said.