Michael Bowery: Carrum Downs car thief blames pot-loving pals

Wasted life: A Carrum Downs pothead powder coater who can’t stop stealing cars says it’s the fault of his marijuana-loving mates.

A car thief has blamed his stealing on having bad mates and smoking too much weed.

A cannabis-craving car thief who “smokes 28g of marijuana every two or three days” has been told he is wasting his life and in danger of becoming an “aged, shuffling” jailbird.

Michael Bowery, who has a long history of stealing motors, nicked two more cars and was also a passenger in a third stolen vehicle involved in a dangerous chase around bayside suburbs.

The Carrum Downs 23-year-old pothead powder coater pleaded guilty to car thefts, failing to stop, disqualified driving and bail breach charges at the online Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

The court heard Bowery and some dope-loving mates stole a station wagon from Riddells Creek on February 9 this year.

The next day police received several reports of the same car being driven erratically in the Brighton area.

The Police Air Wing was sent up and several cop cars took up the chase.

The stolen car hit speeds of 100km/h in 70km/h zones in Moorabbin and raced through school zones in Beaumaris and Mentone, often on the wrong side of the road.

A short time after it was pulled over Bowery, who was a front seat passenger, and the others involved were arrested.

In July last year he and his pilfering pals took a Mitsubishi from a Frankston street, with Bowery also stealing a wallet from the car.

In April last year he and a mate took a Holden from an Aspendale garage, dumping it in Frankston three days later.

Inside was the butt of a cigarette, which had been smoked by Bowery, and the car now had fake plates, which had his fingerprints all over them.

And in January this year Bowery, who doesn’t hold a licence, was seen doing 137km/h in a 70km/h zone in Carrum Downs in an unregistered car borrowed from a mate.

His defence lawyer said her client had a “significant” addiction to cannabis which began at the age of 12 and now constituted him smoking around 28g every two or three days.

She said he associated his offending with being around negative drug-taking peers and was feeling much healthier after ceasing cannabis use due to being in custody.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge said if Bowery was not careful he would become an aged, shuffling jailbird with no hope of a future.

“You were sentenced last time to four months imprisonment for aggravated burglary, theft of car and evading police, and here you are again,” Mr Lethbridge said.

“It is very disappointing to see someone so young just really throwing away their future.

“What a tragic waste.”

Bowery was jailed for four months, minus 76 days already served, and must do a 15-month corrections order upon release.

He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.