Thief bought stolen car with Jobseeker cash, led police on chase through Narre Warren park
A man who had a few spare dollars due to Jobseeker, didn’t want to buy a new TV or stock up on toilet rolls. Instead he bought a nicked car and led cops on a chase through a Narre Warren park.
South East
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A thief led police on a pursuit across a park in a stolen car he had bought with Jobseeker money, a court has heard.
Jacob Kelly paid “a friend” $500 for the nicked 2020 Toyota RAV 4, knowing it had been stolen, before going on a reckless joy ride through the southeast.
And when Kelly — who has never held a driving licence — was eventually caught he was found with a bottle of GHB in his pocket.
The 21-year-old of no fixed address pleaded guilty to car theft, drug possession and evade police charges at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
He has extensive priors for similar car thefts and serious driving crimes and was serving a community corrections order at the time.
On July 10 this year a police patrol saw a stolen SUV with two different number plates — also stolen — driving along Hallam Rd in Hallam.
They followed the car with the police air wing also hovering above and watched as it turned into Narre Warren North side streets before driving into Drysdale Ave parkland.
Kelly stopped the vehicle momentarily and let two people out before he continued racing through the park.
He then decided to pull over, got out and tried to run, but was nabbed by cops and arrested.
When he was searched officers found a bottle of GHB on him, some of which he said he had used earlier that night.
He told police he knew the car, which didn’t have any plates when he bought it, had been stolen but wanted to use his Jobseeker money to buy something.
Kelly’s defence lawyer said he had a limited education, a traumatic teenage upbringing and had got involved with ice a couple of years ago.
Since then he has been in and out of jail, and worked part time at a scrap metal business.
She said he had recently suffered grief over the suspected murder of his stepfather, whose body was found in a Cranbourne primary school yard last month and that had triggered pain over his natural dad’s death a few years before.
She said Kelly didn’t want to go back on another community corrections order because he felt unable to complete it and he would rather have a straight prison sentence.
Magistrate Andrew Halse said he would be jailing Kelly, it was just a matter of how long.
He deferred sentencing and remanded him in custody until August 6.
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