Frankston Magistrates Court: Brody Harris fronts court after cutting off ankle bracelet
A Sunbury man with a long history of stealing cars was released on parole and promptly went back his old ways, cutting off his ankle bracelet monitor and going on the run.
South East
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A serial car thief has landed himself back in prison after breaking parole by cutting off his ankle bracelet monitor and going on a wild crime spree.
Brody Harris, of Sunbury, was originally sentenced in the County Court in October 2021 to three years and two months jail with a non-parole period of one year and eight months, for a string of car thefts.
But he went back to his old ways not long after being paroled in September 2022.
On March 29 this year, Harris removed his ankle bracelet which he wore to monitor for alcohol consumption and to stick to a curfew.
Police went to Harris’ home address but he wasn’t home, breaking the conditions of his parole.
Throughout late March and early April this year Harris was seen driving a car with cloned plates and a stolen car.
On March 28, Harris was seen driving a yellow Holden Ute with cloned plates through Avondale Heights where he went to the Ampol petrol station and drove off with $93 worth of petrol without paying.
On April 7 Harris was seen again driving the stolen Ford at speeds of up to 150km/h, with police deploying the air wing to follow him.
When he was arrested he was searched and police found a small bag of meth, as well as two stolen rego plates.
Harris appeared in the Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to all 12 charges including breaching his parole and dangerous driving.
Ms Anna Balmer for the defence told the court Harris had been thrown out of rehab after his release on parole for smoking a vape.
“This offending is reckless but not sophisticated,” she said.
She said when Harris cut off his ankle bracelet he hadn’t “thought about the consequences”.
“He was throwing away any chance he had,” she said.
Ms Balmer proposed putting Harris on a community corrections order upon his release from prison however, Magistrate Ayres handed Harris another five months jail to his sentence and suspended him from driving for three years.
