Beau Hewat, Olivia Martin, Geoffrey Tubb and more: some of the Melbourne’s biggest thieves
The son of a notorious Hells Angels bikie, terrible twins and a serial thief dabbling in retail and commercial theft — meet seven of some of Melbourne’s worst thieves.
South East
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A man on a stealing spree, a two-timing petrol thief, a set of car-stealing twins and the son of a notorious bikie enforcer – these are some of the worst thieves in Melbourne.
Beau Hewat:
The son of a notorious Hells Angels bikie pleaded guilty to a string of brazen heists, including a more than $200,000 liquor loot.
Beau Hewat, son of Peter “Skitzo” Hewat, fronted the Melbourne County Court on May 5, pleading guilty to three charges of theft and two charges of recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime.
He kicked off his light-fingered crime spree in April 2020, when he stole $75,000 worth of booze, following it up in December of the same year when he stole two Australia Post trailers loaded with parcels in Somerton valued at $50,000.
The court heard Hewat had previously hooked up a B-double trailer containing 30 pallets of Jack Daniels and cola premixed slabs to his truck at a secure depot in Laverton North before driving off in the early hours of July 10, 2021.
The Mickleham father-of-two, who runs a heavy haulage transport company, then offloaded the booze at an associate’s factory in Somerton.
Hewat then called Steven Buzzo, 43, the owner of Tullamarine alcohol distributor 1770 Spirit Co, to make a deal for the booze.
When Buzzo agreed to pay him $157,000 in $15,000 weekly cash instalments, Hewat abandoned the empty trailers on a nearby road and organised for the alcohol to be delivered to Buzzo that night.
Buzzo then began selling the alcohol, which had a wholesale value of $206,597.40.
Buzzo was arrested at his warehouse following an investigation by Northwest Metro Crime Squad detectives into the commercial thefts of heavy haulage vehicles.
He later pleaded guilty to his involvement in the crime, receiving a $5000 fine without conviction.
Hewat was initially on the run, after escaping officers during a raid at his Mickleham property, but later turned himself in.
Judge Michael Cahill said it was hard to believe that Hewat’s theft of the Australia Post trucks was “spontaneous”, after his prior history in stealing trucks with high amounts of alcohol.
“It’s hard to accept the theft of the trailers was spontaneous. There appears to be a pattern of conduct here,” he said.
“There are three incidents over a period of time from April 2020 to July 2021, the modus operandi is effectively the same each time.”
“It’s what seems to be a scheme, where trailers with valuable contents are targeted.”
Judge Cahill said he was “far from decided” in what sentence to impose on Hewat.
“I have in no way made up my mind over what the appropriate disposition should be,” he said.
Hewat will reappear at the County Court for sentencing on Friday, May 12.
Matthew Cave
A St Kilda man pleaded guilty to eight charges after multiple thefts from Chadstone shopping centre and an empty warehouse in South Melbourne.
Matthew Cave, 39, appeared in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on Valentine’s Day after spending 61 days in custody.
Cave pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including possession of methamphetamines, trespassing with the intent to steal, dishonestly obtaining property and committing indictable offences while on bail.
The court heard Cave had been seen acting strangely on Grey St in St Kilda on April 30 in 2021.
Multiple people called the emergency services before police approached Cave and searched him.
The police discovered two zip-lock bags in a black satchel carried by Cave, one containing an amount of methamphetamines and the other with heroin.
Cave offered a “no comment” statement when police asked if the drugs were his, the court heard.
The court heard Cave continued offending in July 2022 while on bail.
The court heard Cave and two others attended Chadstone shopping centre, and while using a stolen credit card, purchased more than $5000 from Adidas and Culture Kings.
CCTV footage captured Cave’s purchases in full, where Cave bought clothing, bags, umbrellas and a watch, the court was told.
In December 2022, Cave was caught offending again, with three other men in Dorcas St, South Melbourne.
The court heard a witness heard banging in the laneway behind their office around 3.35pm, and looked out the window to investigate.
The witness saw a white Subaru Outback with three men in fluro vests, transporting wheelie bins filled with copper between the building and the boot, the court heard.
The witness called police, who attended and arrested Cave and his co-accused.
The court heard there was photos and CCTV footage showing the accused moving the copper filled wheelie bins between the building and the car.
A police investigation found significant damage to the building’s roof, where copper had been cut out from multiple areas.
The court heard officers also found a number of power tools and hand tools in their search of the property.
When Cave was searched by police, the court was told officers found Butanediol (used to make GHB) in one of his pockets.
Cave had been in custody for this offending since being arrested on December 15.
Magistrate David Starvaggi took into account Cave’s priors and 61 already served days in his sentencing decision.
“I’m sentencing you to 61 days jail, taking into account time served,” he said.
Mr Starvaggi said Cave’s guilty plea had also played into the reduction of his sentence.
“If you hadn’t pleaded guilty today, you would have incurred an 80-day sentence.”
Mark Senior
A Caulfield North man pleaded guilty to a whopping 28 charges of theft and committing indictable offences while on bail.
Mark Senior, 31, appeared in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on March 10, represented himself from the docks after refusing assistance from the on-duty lawyer.
“I don’t have a lawyer and I don’t want one,” he told the court.
“I don’t know who she is, and I can’t trust her. That’s not the way I operate,” Senior said when Magistrate David Starvaggi questioned his refusal.
The court heard Senior had stolen alcohol from Caulfield Plaza’s Liquorland on 15 occasions over 15 days, sometimes up to three times in one day.
Senior continuously stole four-packs of Woodstock Bourbon alongside six-packs of VB’s from the Caulfield liquor store, the court was told.
Senior had made no attempt to pay on any occasion.
Senior’s sticky fingers were thwarted by police when they attended his Caulfield North home and took him into custody on March 8, the court was told.
Senior pleaded guilty, but said this was not “usual behaviour” for him.
“This is not how I operate my life normally,” he told the court.
“I’m trying to make my life as good as possible. I’m deeply sorry and I won’t be doing it again. I’ve seen the error in my ways.”
According to Mr Starvaggi, there was a “need for specific deterrence.”
“You’ve got a significant number of priors for stealing,” he said.
“I am taking into account your early plea of guilty, but there is also a need for specific deterrence.”
Mr Starvaggi sentenced Senior to seven days behind bars, with one day served.
Ricko and Nico Keat
A twin thief duo pleaded guilty to stealing a luxury car after being caught at a Clayton hotel with the vehicle.
Noble Park twins Ricko and Nico Keat fronted Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court pleading guilty to stealing a black Lexus NX300 from a Black Rock home in 2022.
The court heard the victim had parked the car outside his home on April 21 and after ensuring it was locked, went inside his home.
The victim didn’t come back outside until the following morning, when he discovered his car was gone.
Months later in August, Nico Keat drove the Lexus to the Monash Hotel in Clayton and reserved a room.
The court heard patrolling officers saw the car outside the hotel on August 16.
The licence plate check revealed the car registration plates were fake and a further search revealed the car was listed as stolen.
Police went to the hotel’s reception to make further inquiries regarding the car as the Keat brothers simultaneously left the hotel room, the court was told.
They tried to walk past police, but were stopped and questioned regarding the Lexus.
Police called for additional units to attend the incident, the court was told.
The court heard while officers were interviewing the Keat brothers, a hotel staff member granted other investigators access to the CCTV footage of the hotel.
The court heard Nico told police Ricko had been driving the stolen car.
“He was driving, and picked me up from a petrol station,” Nico said.
“When I saw him coming in the Lexus, I thought it was too good to be true.”
The court heard the car key had been dismantled and put down the hotel sink before the brothers exited the hotel room.
The court heard Nico told police he had done it “in a panic”.
“I panicked because you guys were here,” he said.
“I knew you’d be looking for the car.”
The court heard police also found a set of knuckledusters while undertaking a search of the hotel room.
Both brothers claimed they “had never seen them before”.
The brothers were both released from custody later that day.
The court heard Nico was arrested again on September 21 regarding another matter.
Police arrested Nico at Club Noble in Noble Park after finding a ziplock bag of methamphetamines during a pat down search.
Police then executed a search warrant on Nico’s Noble Park home, where they found more zip lock bags of methamphetamines, a black taser, a gel blaster handgun (classed as an imitation firearm), and a black ASP baton.
The court heard Nico also kept a padlock on his bedroom door that remained locked while he wasn’t at home.
Nico was also on bail at the time of his second arrest, the court was told.
Magistrate David Starvaggi had few words for the brothers, only addressing Nico directly in the sentencing.
“The precedent for a prohibited person like you possessing a firearm is a minimum of six months jail,” he said.
“The only difference between you and the precedent is that you weren’t caught walking around with it in public. That’s the reason you’re not in prison right now.”
Ricko Keat pleaded guilty to the theft of a motor vehicle, and received a three-month licence suspension and 120 hours of unpaid community work to be completed over a one-year period.
Nico Keat pleaded guilty to the theft of a motor vehicle, drug possession and possession of a prohibited firearm, and to committing indictable offences while on bail.
He received a three month licence suspension and 300 hours of unpaid community work to be completed over a two-year period.
Olivia Martin
An Oakleigh woman fronted Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court after being caught driving unlicensed and for stealing petrol.
Olivia Marton pleaded guilty to two charges including driving unlicensed and theft at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on April 18.
The court heard Martin was seen by police driving through Oakleigh on October 26 in 2022, and intercepted her a short time later.
Martin was unable to provide police with her licence, but did give her correct name and address, the court was told.
During a follow up search, officers found Martin was unlicensed at the time.
The court heard Martin admitted to not having a license, saying “I lost it a long time ago.”
She told police she “couldn’t afford” it when asked why she had not renewed her licence, the court heard.
Martin also pleaded guilty to stealing petrol on two occasions from Oakleigh service stations.
The court heard Martin was seen on CCTV parking in the Coles Express on Dandenong and Warrigal Rds on March 10 in 2022, where she filled up with $84.63 worth of petrol.
The CCTV footage then shows Martin getting back into her car and driving away without paying.
On the second occasion, Martin filled her car with $93.36 worth of petrol before driving off, the court was told.
The court heard Martin had remained silent when she was interviewed over the thefts, neither admitting to or denying the offending.
Magistrate David Starvaggi said he was taking her guilty plea into account during his sentence.
“I’m convicting and discharging you with no further order to your license,” he said.
Mr Starvaggi fined Martin $250 with conviction, and her licence remained cancelled.
Raylene Brady
A woman has fronted Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court over the theft of two bottles of alcohol in the middle of first Covid lockdown.
Raylene Brady, 50, pleaded guilty to theft on May 2, after being caught stealing a bottle of Monkey Shoulder Whisky and a bottle of Hendricks Gin from a Costco outlet.
Brady was seen by a Costco staff member putting the two bottles into her trolley on July 7 in 2020 while shopping, the court heard.
The court heard the two bottles had disappeared by the time she was in the next aisle, according to the staff member.
Brady was subject to a bag check when she was checking out, where another staff member found the two bottles in her handbag, the court was told.
The court heard Brady was escorted to a staffroom to wait for police to arrive.
Brady told police she’d contacted her husband to transfer her money while she was still shopping, but he had not yet responded by the time she was ready to pay, the court was told.
Brady told the court she was remorseful for her actions.
“I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” she said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever stolen anything before and I’ve certainly never stolen anything since.”
Brady told the court the stress of Melbourne’s lockdown had caused her lapse of judgment.
“It was the middle of Covid,” she said.
“I was concerned about not being able to make the purchase.”
Magistrate Ian McGrane considered the severity of the crime in his sentence.
“The goods were recovered and the business didn’t suffer from any losses as a result,” he said.
“Dishonesty is terrible, but it’s not the greatest crime in the world.”
Mr McGrane sentenced Brady without conviction, to pay a fine of $250.
gemma.scerri@news.com.au
