Daniel Berrick: Girlfriend’s drug death led to thief’s crime spiral

A former Frankston heroin junkie was living a clean and crime-free life until he saw his partner die from a drug overdose right in front of him.

Daniel Berrick fell back into a life of drugs and crime after he saw his girlfriend die of an overdose.

A career crook relapsed back into drugs and petty thefts after he witnessed his girlfriend die, a court has heard.

Daniel Berrick has a long criminal career dating back more than two decades but had been free of crime for a while until his partner’s overdose death two years ago.

The 43-year-old Frankston unemployed swimming pool installer then fell back into using drugs and stealing to feed his habit.

Berrick pleaded guilty to a range of theft and driving-related charges at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

The court heard his strangest crime was committed at a Chelsea Heights car wash in March last year.

He drove his unregistered Peugeot to the vacuum cleaning area – although he was suspended at the time – and found it was locked up.

He went to his car boot, took out a golf club and proceeded to bash the padlock with it.

That didn’t work, so he resorted to some bolt cutters he also had in his car and used them to successfully snap the lock.

He then cleaned his vehicle interior, took part of the vacuum machine and drove off.

A drug-affected Berrick also broke into cars in Kensington, stealing a backpack and trying to nick other items before he was caught in the act.

He was also in the process of stealing a laptop from a parked car in Hughesdale when the victim came out of a shop and caught him.

Berrick politely asked the man if the computer was his, and when told it was, gently handed it back before doing a runner.

He also stole a box of cables from a Frankston South yard, and took a Frankston shopper’s bag which contained hair products and a shaver.

And he repeatedly rode motorbikes and drove cars without a licence.

Berrick has a 37-page criminal rap sheet with another nine pages of driving priors, and has served several jail terms in the past.

Defence lawyer Nikki Morgan said as well as witnessing the overdose death of his partner Berrick was also dealing with the passing of his mother.

She said combined they “contributed to a considerable increase in his consumption of drugs”.

She said he had had issues with homelessness and heroin much of his life, but was now back on the methadone program, in stable accommodation and had a strong desire to change his ways.

Magistrate Timothy Gattuso said he needed to turn his life around soon or he would be back in prison again.

“He has been a bit of a nuisance to the community,” Mr Gattuso said.

“He has a long criminal history, seems he had gone back to his old ways.

“He is on very thin ice, by the skin of his teeth he has escaped a jail term today.”

Mr Gattuso said his partner’s overdose death only served to highlight the very real dangers of drugs and the tragic consequences they can cause.

Berrick was placed on an 18-month community corrections order with 150 hours of unpaid work, and must do drug and mental health counselling and treatment.

He was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to complete a road safety awareness program.

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