Smoked out: Frankston ciggie-dropping druggie thief Liviu Almajan’s DNA fail ends in jail
Picking up after yourself is not only good manners, it’s also pretty important if you are thieving from cars to feed a heroin addiction, as this durry-chugging Frankston thief found out.
South East
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A careless crook who left a DNA-dripping cigarette butt in one of the cars he was stealing from has been jailed.
Liviu Almajan was also found zoned out with a foil of heroin next to him in a stranger’s front yard, used stolen bank cards to buy booze and smokes, and drove high on ice without a valid licence.
The 36-year-old unemployed Frankston man pleaded guilty to a raft of drug, theft and driving charges at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The court heard a Frankston car owner discovered their vehicle had been broken into on May 13 this year, with coins taken from a console.
But the slapdash drug-addicted thief had left plenty of evidence behind, dropping a cigarette butt inside the car.
This was later analysed and found to contain DNA belonging to Almajan, which was easily matched in the police database due to his extensive criminal past.
He also broke into a car in Cranbourne on July 24, using stolen bank cards to buy liquor and cigarettes, and was found passed out in a Dandenong yard on March 22 this year, with a syringe and a heroin foil next to him.
Almajan was also caught driving a car as a learner without L-plates or a supervised passenger in Frankston on May 12, and was nabbed drug driving in Berwick on August 31.
On September 18 this year police received reports of suspicious activity in Eumemmerring and when they arrived they found Almajan peering into cars with a torch.
He had a backpack with a knife and multi-tool in it, a screwdriver in his pocket and a bag of heroin in his wallet.
He was wanted on warrants at the time and remanded in custody.
His defence lawyer said Almajan had already spent 40 days inside and submitted a total prison term of 90 days would be sufficient punishment.
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell said Almajan, who has been in and out of jail and consistently breached community corrections orders, had to be given a straight jail term for this latest crime spree.
But she said it was her decision on how long that should be, and not up to the defence.
“He has a very serious prior history,” Ms O’Donnell said.
“He’s a prolific offender, he continues (to commit crimes) despite being jailed several times, and has a lack of engagement with court orders.”
Almajan was imprisoned for five months, minus 40 days he has already served, fined $500 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
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