Dandenong crowbar thug jailed again for stealing car, crashing it, stealing knives and running away
A man who stole a car before smashing it in a hit-run had not long been out of prison after serving 18 months for attacking a man with a crowbar in a Dandenong street. Now he has faced court once again.
South East
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A car-crashing thief with a violent past — including bashing a man unconscious with a crowbar in a Dandenong street — has again been jailed.
Robert Scandolera stole a Kia Sportage and within hours smashed it into an innocent motorist’s vehicle before driving off from the scene.
The Dandenong 25-year-old then abandoned the busted Kia, stealing iPads, tablets and fishing knives that were stored inside it, and ran off.
But he was soon caught by police, arrested and remanded in custody.
Scandolera pleaded guilty to a series of theft and driving-related crimes at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday.
The court heard the owner of the Kia heard someone opening the garage roller door of his Endeavour Hills home about 5.30am on April 4.
He heard the car drive off and called police.
Just a few hours later, about 1am, Scandolera crashed the stolen Kia into another car in a Doveton street.
He sped away and a short time later left the damaged SUV on the side of a road, nicking off with the knives and electronics that the owner had left in the boot.
Officers found Scandolera with the stolen gear and he admitted he was the driver involved in the crash.
In court his defence lawyer said Scandolera had an intellectual disability and would benefit from a community corrections order.
Scandolera had only been out of jail for a few months after serving an 18-month stretch for serious offences committed in 2017.
He had been imprisoned in October 2017 after he bashed a man with a crowbar he brought specifically for the assault.
The victim was left unconscious for 10-20 minutes and suffered a deep head wound, bleeding and swelling in the violent attack.
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Magistrate Tara Hartnett accepted Scandolera had an upbringing of “absolute trauma”, including starting taking drugs at the age of 11 or 12, but the community needed to be protected from people like him.
“His reality is if he continues to use drugs and offend in this way his sentences will get longer and longer,” Ms Hartnett said.
She told Scandolera he “had to start making smart decisions” and his biggest challenge in life was to stop relapsing into drug use when he got out of prison.
Scandolera was jailed for six months, minus 76 days already served, and had his driving licence disqualified for 12 months.