Olivia Martin and Zolfeqar Reza front courts in Melbourne’s southeast over speeding and theft
An unlicensed driver who stole petrol and a driver clocked at more than 30km/h over the speed limit have fronted court in Melbourne’s southeast.
South East
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A petrol thief and a man caught speeding more than 30km/h over the speed limit have fronted courts in Melbourne’s southeast.
Olivia Martin
An Oakleigh woman fronted Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court after being caught driving unlicensed and for stealing petrol.
The court heard Olivia Martin plead guilty to two charges, including driving unlicensed and theft on April 18.
The court heard Martin was seen by police driving in Oakleigh on October 26 last year at 10.45am, and intercepted her a short time later.
During the stop, the court heard Martin was unable to provide officers with a licence, but did provide her correct name and address.
In a subsequent search, police found Martin was driving unlicensed.
The court heard Martin admitted to not having a licence, saying, “I lost it a long time ago”,
When police questioned why she had not renewed her licence, the court heard Martin told them she “couldn’t afford it”.
The court heard Martin also faced charges of theft, after stealing petrol on two occasions from two Oakleigh service stations.
The court heard Martin was seen on CCTV parking in the Coles Express on the corner of Dandenong and Warrigal roads on March 10 in 2022, where she filled with $84.63 worth of petrol.
The CCTV footage shows Martin getting back in the car and driving away.
The court heard Martin stole petrol a second time on March 21, filling her vehicle with $93.36 worth of petrol before driving off.
The court heard that when Martin was interviewed for the thefts, she remained silent, neither admitting nor denying the offending.
Magistrate David Starvaggi took her plea of guilty into account when sentencing Martin on Tuesday.
“I’m convicting and discharging you with no further order to your licence,” he said.
Mr Starvaggi fined Martin $250, and her licence remained cancelled.
Zolfeqar Reza
A father of two caught doing 35km/h over the speed limit has fronted a Melbourne court.
Zolfeqar Reza pleaded guilty in Dandenong Magistrates Court on April 17 after being clocked doing 75km/h in a 40km/h zone.
The court heard police witnessed Reza driving in Lyndhurst on April 11, 2022, before intercepting him.
When interviewed by police, the court heard Reza claimed he “didn’t realise” he was speeding and that he thought “it was a 90km/h zone”.
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell told Reza she didn’t have an option other than to suspend his licence.
“The loss of license is mandatory,” she said.
“I’m only intending to impose a fine on you otherwise.”
Reza told the court his wife was experiencing a medical emergency, attempting to justify his speeding.
“I had a medical emergency with my wife at home – her heart was beating very fast and she needed her medication, but she can’t drive,” he said.
“I had to go home from work to get her medication for her. I have two kids at home, I had to get there as fast as possible.”
Ms O’Donnell said there was no reason he should have been speeding in the 40km/h zone, and even if there was a good reason, she had no say over the matter.
“There is no discretion whatsoever on speeding, Mr Reza, I only have discretion over the fine,” she said.
“I’m suspending your license for six months from today and giving you a $400 fine with conviction.”
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