Nico and Ricko Keat: Noble Park twins plead guilty to theft of Lexus NX300 from Blackrock home
Twin brothers have fronted a Melbourne court after stealing a luxury car and being caught with prohibited weapons.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A pair of twins from Noble Park have fronted Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court after being caught in possession of a stolen luxury car.
Ricko and Nico Keat, pleaded guilty to the theft of a motor vehicle after being caught in possession of the car at a Clayton hotel.
The court heard the male victim had parked the black Lexus NX300 outside his Black Rock home about 6pm on April 21, 2022.
The owner ensured the car was locked, went inside his home and didn’t come back out until the following morning.
During the time that ensued the Lexus was stolen from the address, the court was told.
Months later in August, Nico Keat drove the Lexus to the Monash Hotel in Clayton and reserved a room.
The court heard the vehicle was seen outside the hotel by patrolling officers on August 16.
A licence plate check revealed the registration plates were fake, and after further investigation the police discovered the car was listed as stolen.
The court heard officers went to the hotel’s reception to make further inquiries regarding the car when the Keat brothers left their room.
They tried to walk past police, before being stopped and questioned regarding the vehicle.
Police called for additional units to attend the incident, the court was told.
While officers spoke with the Keat brothers, a hotel staff member granted other investigators access to the CCTV footage of the hotel.
The court heard Nico told police that Ricko had been driving the stolen car.
“He was driving, and picked me up from a petrol station,” Nico said.
“When I saw him coming in the Lexus, I thought it was too good to be true.”
The court heard the car key had been dismantled and put down the hotel sink before the brothers exited the hotel room.
The court heard Nico told police he had done it “in a panic”.
“I panicked because you guys were here,” he said.
“I knew you’d be looking for the car.”
The court heard police then found a set of knuckledusters while undertaking a search of the hotel room.
Both brothers claimed they “had never seen them before”.
The brothers were both released from custody later that day.
The court heard Nico was arrested again on September 21 regarding another matter.
Police arrested Nico at Club Noble in Noble Park after finding a ziplock bag of methamphetamines during a pat down search.
Police then executed a search warrant on Nico’s Noble Park home, where they found more zip lock bags of methamphetamines, a black taser, a gel blaster handgun (classed as an imitation firearm), and a black ASP baton.
The court heard Nico also kept a padlock on his bedroom door that remained locked while he wasn’t at home.
The court heard Nico was also on bail at the time of his second arrest.
Magistrate Starvaggi had few words for the brothers, only addressing Nico directly in the sentencing.
“The precedent for a prohibited person like you possessing a firearm is a minimum of six months jail,” he said.
“The only difference between you and the precedent is that you weren’t caught walking around with it in public. That’s the reason you’re not in prison right now.”
Ricko Keat pleaded guilty to the theft of a motor vehicle, and received a three-month licence suspension and 120 hours of unpaid community work to be completed over a one-year period.
Nico Keat pleaded guilty to the theft of a motor vehicle, drug possession and possession of a prohibited firearm, and to committing indictable offences while on bail.
He received a three month licence suspension and 300 hours of unpaid community work to be completed over a two-year period.
gemma.scerri@news.com.au
