Prestige Car wash North Melbourne rascal Joseph Stilo pleads guilty to having fake bomb

An East Keilor man caused chaos when he brought an improvised fake bomb to a North Melbourne car wash. So why did he do it?

Police and Bomb Response Unit officers at Prestige Hand Car Wash in North Melbourne.

A car thief caused North Melbourne to be shut down for hours after he took a fake bomb to a popular car wash, a court has heard.

Joseph Stilo, 27, was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to six months’ jail after pleading guilty to multiple car thefts and having an imitation bomb with him in public.

Stilo, who appeared via videolink from Loddon Prison, attempted to create a commotion so he could steal a car of “his choosing” from Prestige Hand Car Wash, the court heard.

He placed an improvised non-functioning fake explosive device with two handheld radios and a timer at the North Melbourne car wash about 10am on September 26, 2019.

Stilo’s skulduggery caused a major ruckus which led to police quickly arriving and evacuating the area.

Nearby roads including the major Racecourse Rd were shut down for hours, bringing traffic and trams through the major thoroughfare to a halt.

As planned, Stilo, from East Keilor, used the distraction to flee in someone else’s black Mercedes-Benz but police cottoned on and arrested him before he could leg it.

The situation got serious.

Investigators found a shotgun shell, bullet rounds, a knife, car keys, multiple bank cards, meth and cannabis on Stilo.

The unemployed thief had successfully stolen a Mitsubishi from Highpoint Shopping Centre’s Platinum Car Wash on September 13.

Stilo was involved in a fender bender with the Mitsubishi at a Bayswater intersection later that day.

Stilo told the driver of the other car he would pay $500 on the spot to “keep the police out of it” then did a runner.

The prolific thief later stole a Toyota ute from Sayfa Group in Boronia on September 18.

Stilo asked a staff member to open the bonnet and turn on the car so he could “check it out” then fled the scene with the bonnet up.

Stilo almost hit the staff member as he sped from the scene.

The fiend drove the car to a North Ringwood charcoal chicken shop the next day where he asked to use the store’s phone.

Police shut down the area for hours.

Stilo called for a mobile-mechanic after the bonehead put unleaded into the diesel ute.

The mechanic refused to fix the car after determining it was stolen.

Stilo unsuccessfully attempted to call more mechanics, shopped around the precinct then bailed in a cab.

The court heard Stilo had worked as a carpenter, concreter and labourer, including a one-year stint with the CFMEU, after a “conventional childhood”.

But it was heard he had gotten into abusing large amounts of ice daily.

Stilo was last month sentenced in the County Court to three years and six months’ jail with a minimum of two years after pleading guilty to armed robbery.

Stilo and an accomplice did over a milk bar armed with a hatchet less than a month after his bomb hoax escapade.

Magistrate Pauline Spencer ordered Stilo’s six-month term run concurrent with his armed robbery sentence.

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