Osvaldo Rossi: Thomastown dad carjacks and attacks young man
A Thomastown dad who tried to discipline his son’s friend for allegedly stealing a phone went so far that a magistrate said calling the offending an over-reaction to the issue was “clearly an understatement”.
North
Don't miss out on the headlines from North. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Thomastown dad attacked, carjacked, falsely imprisoned and threatened his son’s friend because he believed the 20-year-old had stolen a woman’s phone, a court has heard.
Osvaldo Rossi demanded the man injure himself with a cut throat razor after assaulting him, holding knives in front of him and driving him to a Coburg park, where he then dumped him.
The 44-year-old fronted the County Court on Friday, August 21, to be sentenced over the “terrifying” incident.
The court heard the victim had been living at Rossi’s Newton St home with Rossi and his son for a month when the attack occurred on December 17, 2018.
The night before, a group of his son’s friends had also stayed at the house.
After the victim went out the following morning, Rossi’s son and Rossi called him asking the whereabouts of a phone belonging to one of the women who’d stayed the night.
When he arrived home about 3.30pm, two of the friends who’d stayed over went out to his car and asked him about the phone.
The court heard the victim said he didn’t know and stayed in the car.
Rossi then came out and demanded the victim get out of the car and hand over the key, before pulling him out, and grabbing his wallet and throwing it across the driveway.
The dad went back inside and the victim got in a scuffle with one of the friends, before the pair were pulled apart by Rossi, who was holding two knives.
The court heard the knives, which were 20cm and 10cm long, looked like kitchen knives or machetes.
Rossi yelled for the victim and one of the friends to get into the victim’s car.
He drove away and kept asking the two men, ““Where the f*** is the phone?” and said, “The person lying is going to be in a lot of pain tonight”.
The court heard the other male directed Rossi to Murray Rd, Coburg, where they found a smashed phone on the ground, before Rossi parked at Coburg Olympic Swimming Pool.
He got out and opened the back door, screaming at the victim, “If you keep going, you’re going to get cut”.
The victim denied anything to do with the phone before Rossi pulled out a cut throat razor and told him to cut himself.
When the victim refused Rossi dragged him from the car, tearing his top.
He asked if the victim had any drugs, emptying his pockets and taking the $3 he found, before instructing the victim to change his top.
When the victim had put on another top from the car, Rossi said, “You have one hour and 40 minutes to walk home, I want to see you sweat motherf***er”.
Rossi told him it would be silly to go to the police because he had his wallet and would find out his parents’ address, before driving off in the victim’s car.
The victim had a stranger call the police.
Rossi was arrested three days later when police saw him driving the victim’s stolen car with false number plates attached.
The court heard Rossi, a concreter, who was on bail for possessing a prohibited weapon, had an extensive criminal history including firearm offences, and was using methamphetamine at the time.
Judge Trevor Wraight said calling the offending an over-reaction to the issue was “clearly an understatement” and that it would have caused psychological trauma for the victim.
“You acted in an extreme, bizarre and frightening way,” he said.
The court heard Rossi had pleaded guilty before a final directions hearing was to take place, and showed no remorse for the incident.
Judge Wraight said Rossi’s rehabilitation prospects had to be assessed with caution, and was taking into account the difficult circumstances in prison due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He sentenced Rossi to three years’ jail, with 603 days having already been served, with a non-parole period of two years.
Judge Wraight said but for the plea the sentence would have been four years, with a three- year non parole period.
MORE: NEIGHBOUR FEUD ENDS IN STABBING
MAN FOUND ASLEEP IN CAR ALLEGEDLY WITH DRUGS IN HIS UNDIES