Damien Robinson: Mum’s death led to ice-fuelled crime spree

A roof tiler’s life spiralled into a life of drugs, depression and despair after he found his mother dead — and he tried to pass himself as a dead gangster.

‘Eating ice’: A roof tiler’s life spiralled into a life of drugs and despair after he found his mother dead.

A cooked crook went on a strange two-month bender involving stealing food from a staff fridge, nicking sugar from a Maccas and throwing a rock through a glass window, a court has heard.

Damien Lee Robinson was also nabbed by a real estate agent squatting in an empty house after breaking in through a side window, giving police a false name of a known gangster and stealing a wallet from a car.

The homeless 31-year-old pleaded guilty to 15 charges including burglary, criminal damage, theft and bail breaches at the Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

The court heard on February 10 this year a driver stepped out of his car to have a chat with another motorist in Frankston.

While his back was turned Robinson reached inside the vehicle and stole the man’s wallet, containing bank cards, a mobile phone and cash.

Eight days later he walked into McDonalds in Carrum Downs and went behind the counter, picked up handfuls of sugar sachets and left.

It was bad timing for him as two police officers were also at the eatery and arrested him in the carpark, finding him with the stolen sugar and the nicked phone.

He gave police the name “Gangitano” — a notorious Melbourne gangster killed in 1998 — but cops knew who he was and he was arrested.

A week later Robinson broke into a construction site in Malvern East.

He looked around and went to a staff fridge, stole three ready meals, some cheese and mayonnaise, and left.

But he had triggered a silent alarm and police soon found him walking down the street, still with the food in his possession.

Three weeks later Robinson and his then-girlfriend had a verbal argument in Frankston over a cigarette lighter.

She went home, but he later turned up at her Langwarrin house and threw a rock through her window.

Then on April 13 he was found by an estate agent squatting in a Carrum Downs property and told not to come back.

Three days later the agent took prospective tenants to the house, only to find Robinson inside again.

He walked away, gave another false name to police but was remanded in custody this time.

Defence lawyer Karen Sheridan said Robinson had a tumultuous upbringing with his father spending long periods of time behind bars.

She said in 2015 he came home to find his mother dead which caused him to suffer PTSD and sent him on a downward drugs spiral.

She said he was a roof tiler, but he had not worked for six years due to his heavy substance abuse, homelessness and depression issues.

She said his habit had become so bad at one stage he was “eating ice”, but he now wanted to rehabilitate and would like to “start normalising life”.

She said he was a candidate for the court integrated services program to assist him with his drug problems and mental health issues.

Magistrate Charles Tan said Robinson had already spent four-and-a-half months in custody and he was open to the submission to defer sentence to allow him to begin treatment.

He sent Robinson for a CISP assessment, with an expectation he would then be bailed to be sentenced on October 6.