Laeton Taia: Cranbourne carjacker bashed drivers, stole from carwash
A thug carjacker who stole a WRX from a carwash didn’t get a clean getaway thanks to a rather fashionable choice of gear.
South East
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An angry alcohol-fuelled brute who bashed strangers and carjacked a high performance Subaru from a car wash was tracked down by his distinctive red and white runners.
Laeton Taia was upset at a minor bingle he had in his mum’s car earlier the same night and went berserk, repeatedly punching the other driver in the face before speeding off.
The Cranbourne 20-year-old carpentry apprentice then drove to a carwash and attacked the driver of a WRX, nicking his racy ride before speeding away.
Taia pleaded guilty to carjacking, assaults and careless driving charges at the online Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
The court heard at 11.45pm on March 19 this year Taia was driving along South Gippsland Highway in Cranbourne when he rear-ended another car at a roadworks.
As the other driver got out to inspect his vehicle Taia launched a flurry of punches at the man’s face.
Half an hour later Taia drove into a Narre Warren carwash where a driver was cleaning his Subaru while his girlfriend slept in the passenger seat.
Taia went up to the man, asked a couple of polite questions about his car before suddenly punching him to the head and body multiple times.
His girlfriend woke up to see her boyfriend being bashed and as she got out Taia got in the driver’s seat and sped off.
Police tracked him through his mum’s car’s number plate that had been captured on CCTV at the car wash scene.
In the vision Taia was wearing his very unusual red and white shoes, which he was also seen sporting on his Facebook profile and was still wearing when he was arrested the following day.
His defence lawyer said he was very intoxicated that night and had little recollection of what had happened.
She said the incident was completely out of character for her client, who had no prior convictions and had never been in custody before.
Taia spoke at the hearing, reading out letters of remorse about his “disgraceful behaviour” to his victims and the court.
He said he was extremely drunk, and it “breaks my heart to think I did this”.
Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg said the offending “could not be dismissed as him having too much to drink” as it “smacks of planning rather than spontaneous attacks”.
“When the victim (of the crash) checks for damage he approaches him and punches him multiple times before getting back in his car and driving off,” Mr Rozencwajg said.
“And then he goes into a carwash, assaults a second victim without warning, jumps into that car and again drives away.
“It is alarming, it is shattering for (the victims) of his indiscriminate violence.”
Taia was jailed for three months, minus 32 days already served, and ordered to do an 18- month community corrections order upon release.
He was also banned from driving for 12 months and barred from any licensed premises for six months.
