Robert Fletcher at court for terrifying Boronia attempted carjacking
A woman stalked to her car at Boronia carpark was put in a headlock and almost wrenched from her vehicle before a bystander, alerted by her screams, stepped in to help, a court has heard.
Outer East
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A woman was left with bruising and pain in her neck after she was stalked to her car and put in a headlock during a frightening attempted car jacking in Boronia.
Robert Fletcher faced Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on Monday for sentencing over the incident in June last year, where prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Julie Lowe told the court he was a violent offender who deserved to be locked up.
Court documents described how Fletcher and his girlfriend spotted the woman walking back to her car at the Boronia Plaza shopping centre shortly after 1pm on June 15 and followed her.
The frightened woman noticed Fletcher trail her to her car, and when she opened her car door to get inside he rushed at her and yelled at her to hand over her keys, according to the court documents.
Fletcher wrapped his arms around the woman’s neck and tried to wrench her from her seat.
He only stopped his onslaught after a passer-by, alerted by the woman’s screams, stepped in and told Fletcher to let the woman go, according to the documents.
Leading Sen-Constable Lowe told the court Fletcher had a long criminal history and urged Magistrate Jan Maclean to jail him for longer.
“The accused is a recidivist violent offender with numerous priors against the person,” she told the court.
But Fletcher’s lawyer told the court his client had spent 82 days in jail since his arrest and asked Ms Maclean to consider releasing him on time served so he could access community rehabilitation services.
“It’s not a flattering history by any means,” he said.
“(But) one of the worst things that could be done for him, I would submit, is to allow him to continue to slip through the cracks.”
Ms Maclean adjourned the matter so a Forensicare report could be prepared. Fletcher is due back at court on Friday.
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