Hoc Kang, Peter Housby Mark Senior and Jeremy O’Meara front Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court
Unlicensed driving, stolen bourbon, a smashed windscreen and a broken car park boom gate have unveiled the latest scallywags in a court in Melbourne’s southeast.
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A man caught driving unlicensed with a fake ID, a man who smashed a windscreen with a golf club and a man who stole from a Caulfield Liquorland 15 times in 15 days have all fronted Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court.
Mark Senior
A Caulfield North man has pleaded guilty to a whopping 28 charges of theft and committing indictable offences while on bail.
Mark Senior, 31, appeared in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on March 10, and represented himself from the docks.
The court heard Senior had stolen alcohol from the Caulfield Plaza Liquorland a total of 15 times in as many days, sometimes up to three times in one day.
The court heard Senior refused to engage with the on duty lawyer, choosing instead to represent himself from custody.
“I don’t have a lawyer, I don’t want one,” he said.
“I don’t know who she is, and I can’t trust her. That’s not the way I operate,” Senior said when Magistrate David Starvaggi questioned his decision on not wanting the assistance of the on duty lawyer.
The court heard Senior continuously stole Woodstock Bourbon in four-packs alongside six-packs of VB’s from the Caulfield liquor store.
On each occasion the court heard Senior had left the Liquorland without attempting to pay.
The court heard his stealing spree came to an end when police attended Senior’s Caulfield North address and took him into custody on March 8.
While pleading guilty, Senior told the court this was not “usual behaviour” for him.
“This is not how I operate my life normally,” he said.
“I’m trying to make my life as good as possible. I’m deeply sorry and I won’t be doing it again. I’ve seen the error in my ways.”
Mr Starvaggi said there was “a need for specific deterrence” in his sentencing.
“You’ve got a significant number of priors for stealing,” he said.
“I am taking into account your early plea of guilty, but also the need for specific deterrence.”
Mr Starvaggi sentenced Senior to seven days imprisonment with one day served.
Jeremy O’Meara
A Bentleigh man pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal damage after smashing the windscreen of a car with a golf club.
Jeremy O’Meara fronted Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on March 9 after being recently released from prison on other charges.
The court heard O’Meara pleaded guilty after attempting to attack a man with a golf club; instead, damaging the windscreen of the victim’s car.
In January 2022, O’Meara and an accomplice approached the victim in an alleyway behind a restaurant in Bentleigh, both brandishing weapons.
The court heard that when the victim retreated, O’Meara took aim at the car windscreen, causing $300 worth of damage.
A short time later, he was arrested after the incident by Moorabbin police officers.
Magistrates Starvaggi fined him $300 with a conviction, and ordered O’Meara to pay the victim $300 in restitution for the damaged windscreen.
Peter Housby
Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court heard a man plead guilty over the destruction of a car park boom gate in Oakleigh.
Clayton man Peter Housby pleaded guilty to one charge of intention to cause criminal damage, telling the court he “lost his temper”.
The court heard Housby had attempted to leave an Oakleigh shopping centre car park when the boom gate wouldn’t open.
A witness saw Housby exit his vehicle, and physically damage the boom gate, violently shaking the arm, before it eventually snapped off.
The witness reported the incident to centre management, who later found footage of the attack on CCTV.
The court heard Housby made full admissions to the charge when police questioned him over the incident.
In court on March 9, Housby said “it was a stupid thing to do”.
“I went to do some shopping, it said it was free parking for two hours,” he said.
“When I went to leave about half an hour later, the boom gate wouldn’t open. I lost my temper and tried to remove it.”
The court heard Housby say he then felt the arm of the boom gate crack, before it came out of the bracket into his hands.
“I just put it down to the side and drove off,” he said.
“It was a stupid thing to do.”
Magistrate Starvaggi ordered Housby to pay the $1500 restitution to the centre, covering the cost to fix the boom gate arm, as well as a $500 aggregate fine without a conviction.
Hoc Kang
A Springvale man caught driving unlicensed has pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court.
Hoc Kang, 39, was seen by officers driving west on O’Sullivan Rd in Glen Waverley in December 2022.
The court heard police intercepted Kang a short time later, where he produced a Victorian licence with a false name and address.
The police conducted a licence check and found the final digit on the card was invalid.
The court heard that officers then found another identification document on Kang, stating his correct name and address.
The false license was seized by police and Kang was arrested before being taken to Glen Waverley police station, the court was told.
In an interview with police, the court was told Kang “didn’t know how to tell police his real name and address”.
Further, the court heard that when asked why he had a fake licence, Kang said he only had it “to give it to police”.
Magistrate David Starvaggi said he would give Kang the “benefit of the doubt” due to his clean history.
“I’m fining you an aggregate fine of $500 without conviction,” he said.
“I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt due to your guilty plea and your lack of priors.”
Magistrate Starvaggi also forfeited the false licence.
gemma.scerri@news.com.au
