Drugged-up hungry thief found passed out at Carl's Jr, Cranbourne
A thief who nicked $48,000 from a bank went to grab a burger in Cranbourne, but was so drugged-up he passed out in the carpark.
South East
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A thieving druggie found slumped behind the wheel in the car park of Carl’s Jr burger joint in Cranbourne has faced court for the second time in a month.
Aristidis Spiliotis and his passenger had been hitting the ice pipe while waiting for their meal when they realised they were losing consciousness.
The Hallam 27-year-old managed to get past the drive-through and into the carpark before they both passed out.
Carl’s Jr staff called cops and they came to rouse the pair, but that took some doing.
It was several minutes before Spiliotis came to, and when he did, he needed to be taken to hospital.
A search of his car uncovered 4g of ice, two smoking pipes, a 100ml bottle of GHB, scales, $180 in cash and an array of used zip-lock bags.
When he was interviewed about the January 2019 incident he said he remembered driving to Carl’s Jr, but then nothing until he woke up in hospital.
He wouldn’t say who the drugs belonged to or why they were in his car.
He faced Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to drug possession and dealing with proceeds of crime charges.
Last month the same court heard Spiliotis ripped off a homeowner out of nearly $50,000 by conning a bank into handing over a new online password.
In March this year he used a nicked letter stolen from a mailbox and called the bank to change account access details.
He then transferred $48,000 to himself and his mates and they quickly withdrew the cash.
But he was easily caught as he had used his own phone number to phone the bank and his own accounts to deposit the funds into.
He said the deception was not his idea but he “needed some money” for drugs.
None of the cash has been recovered, but the bank has refunded all $48,000 to the victim.
Spiliotis’ defence lawyer said the deception was “fairly opportunistic and brazen”, and he had not gone to any great lengths to conceal his identity.
She said he had substance abuse problems, was co-operative with police and had already spent nearly two months in custody.
Magistrate Andrew Halse said his criminality took preparation.
“The deception was planned and caused significant loss that has to be borne by members of the community,” Mr Halse said.
“He’s also someone who is found slumped in a car after being through a drive-through with drugs in his car.”
Spiliotis was jailed for four months, minus 56 days he has already served.
He was ordered to do a 12-month community corrections order with 120 hours of unpaid work and drug counselling.
He also lost his licence for 12 months.
