Frankston’s James Lyfield rang victim from inside prison
How a self-confessed Frankston North ‘idiot‘ scored himself another stint behind bars.
South East
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A man who “beggared belief” by repeatedly phoning his former partner from inside a prison has been jailed again.
James Lyfield admitted he was “an idiot” after he also attended her home once he was released, creeping up on her as she slept in a tent in her rear yard.
And this was while he was on a community corrections order.
The Frankston North 48-year-old also stole a wallet he found on the ground and tried to use one of the bank cards to buy a can of booze.
Lyfield admitted to a number of charges including theft and attempted deception at the online Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The court heard while on remand for assault and other charges — that he later pleaded guilty to — he rang the ex-partner repeatedly.
Between May 31, 2019 and June 25, 2019 he called her 17 times from inside the prison.
Lyfield has been in and out of jail over the past 20 years for crimes including armed robberies and thefts.
Yet despite this he still thought it was OK to steal.
In September last year he watched on as a young dad carrying a young child inadvertently dropped his wallet outside a Frankston North milk bar.
Instead of handing it in to police he nabbed it for himself, and went to a BWS bottle-o to see what he could buy.
He tried to purchase a can of vodka premix, but failed as the card had already been deactivated.
In December he got into the ex-partner’s rear yard and clambered inside a tent she was sleeping in.
When she woke up she discovered him lying next to her and called police.
During his arrest officers found the bank and identity cards that he had taken from outside the milk bar in his wallet.
His defence lawyer said Lyfield was attacked in a home invasion when he was aged 19, receiving serious injuries to his head after he was struck with metal bars and baseball bats.
He said years of drug abuse, namely heroin, ice and cannabis, had also had an impact on his life and the decisions he made.
Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge said Lyfield’s actions “absolutely beggared belief”.
“If you want to have an arm wrestle with the courts about its orders, it will see you in jail for the long haul,’’ he said,
Lyfield was sentenced to six months behind bars, minus 52 days he has already served.
