Liam Magri pleads guilty to more than 90 charges in Dandenong Magistrates’ Court
A spaced out Xanax junkie punched a woman while trying to steal her car and wielded a meat cleaver out a car window at 80km/h in the Burnley Tunnel.
South East
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A Xanax-fuelled madman has left a woman too scared to walk in her own driveway after he punched her in the face while stealing her car.
Liam Magri, 27, pleaded guilty in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court to more than 90 charges, including the theft of vehicles and assault.
The court heard Magri went on a wild crime spree lasting 17 months spanning multiple Melbourne suburbs.
On May 15 in 2023, Magri was caught on CCTV trying to steal a car at a Toorak Rd property in Malvern before he punched a woman in the face.
In CCTV seen by the court, Magri and a co-accused were seen breaking into two luxury cars in the middle of the day, when they were confronted by one of the owners.
The 59-year-old woman attempted to stop them from taking the cars, holding onto the driver’s side door of her vehicle, keeping the door open.
Magri repeatedly tried to make the woman let go of the door, before eventually punching her in the face.
Magri then escaped, dragging the woman for 5m before she let go of the car.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said she was left with two black eyes and a broken nose after the attack.
“I feel trauma every time I walk outside into my own driveway,” the court heard.
“I have recurring nightmares where I scream for help and nobody comes.”
The court heard the woman had since been diagnosed with PTSD.
On June 4, Magri was driving erratically on the Monash Freeway through the Burnley Tunnel when he swerved past another car, almost colliding with it.
When Magri spotted the driver filming him, he pulled up next to her car and wildly swung a meat cleaver out his window while driving at 80km/h.
The court heard he caused more than $500 of damage to his victim’s car.
Magri was again spotted in CCTV footage on July 18 attempting to break into a property in Patterson Lakes, after which he stole a car from a neighbouring property.
He was finally arrested for July 27 when police saw him getting into a stolen car in Port Melbourne.
In an interview, he told police he “didn’t remember” hitting the car with a meat cleaver, but that he “did stupid s--t when under the influence of GHB, Xanax and cannabis”.
A search of the stolen car revealed numerous stolen items including hockey equipment, various tech items, $1500 in cash, whisky and a projector.
Police also found a jimmy bar, two spanners, a pry bar and an extendible baton with the words “n---a stick” engraved on the side.
Due to the length of charges, the matter was only part heard.
Magri will return to the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on April 26 for the continuation of his guilty plea.