Victoria’s dumbest law breakers in 2023 so far
From a woman who tried to pass herself off as her sister to a bloke who left his healthcare card at the crime scene, these could be some of the dumbest law breakers
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Victoria has had its fair share of dumb law breakers.
From a woman who tried to pass herself off as her sister to a bloke who left his healthcare card at the crime scene, these defendants have joined a long list of bizarre and inexplicable Victorian cases that have left police scratching – and shaking – their heads.
While some of these crimes have very real victims, the antics displayed here brought a chuckle across Victoria this year.
I promise I’m my sister!
A young woman “kicking goals” in her professional life didn’t have her kicking shoes with her — or a valid licence — when she tried to pass herself off as her sister to police.
Sheniz Ahmet, of Burnside, was slapped with a large fine in the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to providing a false name to police and driving while suspended last year.
When pulled over by police, the 25-year-old claimed she didn’t have her driver’s license and offered a photo instead, which turned out to be her sister’s.
Police discovered her suspended license in her handbag, impounded her car, and charged her a fee of $932 to retrieve it.
Ahmet’s lawyer argued that she panicked and lacked sophistication in her actions, emphasising her otherwise good character and successful life.
Magistrate Cecily Hollingworth warned Ahmet about the seriousness of her actions, mentioning the potential charge of perverting the course of justice.
Ahmet pleaded guilty and received a $2000 fine without a conviction or further penalties on her license.
Wrong way, go back!
A Melbourne woman who stopped her car in the middle of the freeway while travelling in the wrong direction has learnt her fate in court.
Svjetlana Santarius pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving while disqualified in the Sunshine Magistrates Court following a late night incident in 2021.
The St Albans woman was seen on CCTV by CityLink control operators driving a vehicle on the wrong side of the road while travelling outbound over the Bolte Bridge about 2.40am.
Police prosecutors told the court that traffic control crews were required to block other motorists and contact police before Santarius stopped driving.
About 2.55am, police attended the scene and observed the vehicle stationary in the middle of the freeway before conducting checks on the 34-year-old’s licence.
Santarius was suspended from driving 11 days earlier for failure to undertake a medical review.
Her licence remains disqualified indefinitely until she obtains medical clearance.
Magistrate Andrew Capell disqualified her from obtaining a driver’s licence for six months and fined her $500.
Coles thief ‘incredibly stupid’
A former Coles executive stole almost $2m in company money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including leasing a BMW and loading up on luxury goods from high-end brands including Jimmy Choo, Cartier and Louis Vuitton.
Aaron Baslangic pleaded guilty at Melbourne Magistrates Court on June 14 after he was charged in 2019 with obtaining property by deception, obtaining financial benefit by deception and falsifying documents.
The 40-year-old made 14 fraudulent transactions from Coles into multiple bank accounts — the biggest sum in a single transaction being more than $413,000.
Baslangic, of Sandringham, siphoned the stolen money into his eight personal bank accounts through a variety of methods, including creating fake emails from his supervisors to authorise payments to a fictitious business, and to real estate and car companies.
The court heard that the offending occurred between January and July 2019, while Baslangic was working as the head of strategic initiatives for Coles Online and had authorisation to make external payments of up to $75,000 but could make bigger payments with supervisor permission.
Baslangic splashed the cash on rental properties, a lease on a BMW car and on retail goods from luxury brands such as Jimmy Choo, Cartier and Louis Vuitton.
He did not stop his offending until he was discovered by Coles, who connected the suspicious transactions totalling $1,978,550 to his personal bank accounts.
Judge Duncan Allen said he was confused by the “strangely unsophisticated” conduct committed by a “well-educated man”.
“The conduct is extremely bizarre in that he must have known this was to be picked up very soon, he made no attempts to cover his tracks,’’ Judge Allen said.
“Brazen is one word for it, the other word is incredibly stupid … it’s very odd.
“A year 12 student could have worked out where this money was going … it’s extremely bizarre.”
Baslangic was remanded in custody on June 9 and has paid back $1,313,634 to Coles but still owes $615,000.
The hearing will continue in August.
My girlfriend had me excited
A young lovebird caught speeding while unlicensed said his senses were “overcome” after leaving a hot date.
Melton’s Tapononati Glassie pleaded guilty in Sunshine Magistrates’ Court to a range of traffic offences dating back to when he was still at school.
Glassie was 18 when he was intercepted by police driving unlicensed on the Melton Highway near Plumpton Rd on October 24, 2019.
Police pulled him over after seeing him doing 92km/h in along a section of road that had a reduced speed limit of 60km/h due to roadworks.
Glassie admitted to police that he’d never had a driver’s licence.
His car was impounded for 30 days.
He told the court that at the time he did not realise the speed limit had been reduced and was simply accelerating to catch up to cars in front of him so he wasn’t holding up traffic.
Glassies said he had left the Watergardens Shopping Centre in Taylors Lakes after a date with his then-girlfriend and was “excited” after seeing her as they were early into the relationship.
“I guess I was just excited after seeing my girlfriend, now ex, and it overcome my senses and I didn’t see the roadworks,” Glassie said.
The now 22-year-old apprentice carpenter has since obtained a provisional licence and had no further traffic matters.
He was fined $500 and suspended from driving for three months.
Nursery owner didn’t know he had cannabis
A nursery owner didn’t know he was bringing home cannabis plants when he picked them up in a nearby town, a court has heard.
Van Bihn Tran, who owns a nursery and noodle shop in Mildura, was fined $3500 for possessing the six plants and a machete in the local magistrates’ court.
Police found chemicals for growing plants and a black machete in Tran’s car when he was pulled over in February.
They then searched his home and found six cannabis plants in his shed, along with seven bags of cannabis.
Defence lawyer Adrian Lewin told the court police had no evidence Tran was selling the cannabis — only that the 53-year-old had come into possession of the plants because he liked the look of them.
“There is no evidence of actual sale, ” he said.
“He took plants home from Yelta, he did not realise what the plants were at the time and only took them because he thought they were beautiful.”
Mr Lewin said the plant set up was “not complicated” and that the whole incident had left Tran feeling “ashamed and embarrassed”.
Magistrate Robert Kumar said, given the submissions by Mr Lewin and that Tran had pleaded guilty, he would not record a conviction.
“I had some misgiving but your council convinced me,” he said.
“But for the plea of guilty I would have convicted you.”
Tran was ordered to pay $3000 in fines for possession of cannabis and $500 for possession of the machete.
Thief leaves healthcare card at crime scene
A Tyers dad left his healthcare card behind when he broke into an isolated farmhouse, stealing a Land Cruiser, tools and a gun.
David Bates, 31, appeared in the Latrobe Valley County Court over the incident after he traded the stolen car for a Suzuki motorbike and cash.
The man who took the stolen car in exchange for his motorbike alerted police once he became suspicious the Land Cruiser might have been stolen.
Police matched DNA taken from an icy pole stick found in the car to Bates.
On June 12, 2021 Bates was driving the Suzuki Motorbike at “excessive speeds” on the wrong side of the road, the court heard, and collided with the driver’s side door of a car performing a U-turn across the highway.
The car was “substantially” damaged, but Bates was seriously injured in the collision.
Blood tests revealed Bates had an “extremely high” level of methamphetamine in his system at the time of the collision.
It prompted police to search his bag and home, uncovering two bags of meth, two stolen motorbikes and other items stolen from the burglary in May.
Bates was sentenced to a total of four years and 10 months in jail but will be eligible for parole after three years and two months.
He had already served 66 days in pre-sentence detention at the time of sentencing.
Low on iron not an excuse
An Oakleigh woman has been blasted by a magistrate “for putting her head in the sand” after blaming her low iron levels for driving while disqualified.
Kiriaki Stamatakos pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on June 1 after being caught driving while disqualified late last year.
Ms Stamatakos claimed her low iron levels were at the centre of her not realising her licence had been disqualified, saying she “wasn’t with it”.
The court heard police had seen Ms Stamatakos travelling on Centre Rd in Clayton South in December 2022 and undertook a registration plate check, which revealed she was suspended from driving.
Ms Stamatakos told police she didn’t know her licence had been suspended for three months, reiterating her claim in court.
“I wasn’t aware I was losing my licence, I thought I had a choice to either pay a fine or lose it,” she told the court.
“I didn’t read the notice really, I just selected the payment plan and began paying the fine.”
Magistrate Stephen Lee said he was “unimpressed” at the state of affairs Ms Stamatakos had found herself in.
“I’m unimpressed with your plea, I’m unimpressed with your explanation in court today and I’m unimpressed that you’ve driven for two months because you didn’t bother to read the notifications sent to you from VicRoads,” he said.
“These matters are serious, because at the heart of them is community safety on the roads.”
Mr Lee fined Ms Stamatakos $1000 without conviction, leaving her free to drive away.
Off his head at Bunnings
A prolific Melbourne meth dealer busted with $59,000 while off his head at a Bunnings has been jailed.
Dylan Whitfield, 30, was sentenced in the County Court to a minimum six-year and six-month jail term after pleading guilty to trafficking a commercial quantity of meth.
Whitfield, of Officer, came under the eye of police after he was spotted “behaving erratically” at Bunnings Springvale in December, 2020.
Investigators searched Whitfield and seized $1250 cash, mobile phones and a Mercedes Benz key.
Police then searched the Merc and seized meth and $58,625 stashed in various bags.
Investigators analysed CCTV footage which showed Whitfield exiting the Mercedes and enter the Bunnings.
Whitfield, who was arrested and remanded in custody, was so drug-affected he almost got hit by a car, the court was told.
The court heard Whitfield was a person of interest in a much larger covert police drug trafficking at the time of his unrelated arrest at Bunnings.
Whitfield, a father, was jailed for a maximum nine years and one month.
30 years without following up on a lost licence
A man has admitted in court to driving unlicensed for more than 30 years, saying he had tried to get it back before but blamed Covid for getting in the way.
Boronia man Michael Laurent fronted Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on April 17 where he pleaded guilty to driving unlicensed after police pulled him over in Dandenong South.
Laurent told the court he lost his licence in 1991 and had failed to renew it.
“I’ve tried to get it back before,” he told the court.
“But through Covid, the hearing kept getting cancelled and I just never followed it up.”
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell questioned Laurent as to why he had taken so long to even attempt to renew his licence.
“I was in a bad car accident overseas, and I was afraid to drive for a long time,” Laurent told the court.
“I’ve tried a number of times over the past few years though, but I’m still unlicensed.”
Ms O’Donnell instructed Laurent to speak with legal aid on the issue of getting his licence back, but warned him of the consequences should he get behind the wheel without a licence again.
“I’m only going to fine you today, Mr Laurent,” she said.
“But this is actually an offence that carries jail terms. Be aware of that moving forward.”
Magistrate O’Donnell fined Laurent an aggregate amount of $300 with a conviction.
Thief couldn’t use item he stole
An dimwitted thief has had his tyres deflated in court, coming to the realisation he would not have been able to use the item he stole.
Sailendras Nair represented himself at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty at his mention hearing to a charge of stealing a tyre inflator from a United petrol station in Springvale South.
The incident was captured on CCTV in December 2022, with the theft reported to police and Nair arrested a few weeks later.
Nair was asked by Magistrate Tony Burns if he had an air compressor at home to which he answered ‘no’.
Mr Burns then responded by telling Nair that “a tyre inflator is useless without an air compressor”.
Nair avoided conviction and was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond.
Fibber places bet while in courtroom
A gambling junkie — who got on the punt while in court — stole more than $1.5m from two employers to bet large at the Casino, Sportsbet and Bet365.
Adam Crowe, a gambling addict from Gisborne, was sentenced to a minimum jail term of 42 months for stealing from two employers to fuel his gambling habits.
Crowe defrauded Melbourne River Cruises of $711,968 and onQ Plumbing of $791,586.
He pleaded guilty to multiple fraud offences and claimed to have stopped gambling after his crimes were discovered.
However, it was revealed the 44-year-old continued gambling and even placed a bet on the day of his plea hearing.
He frequented Crown Casino, TAB, and various betting apps, using most of the stolen money for gambling.
Crowe also developed a cocaine addiction following marital problems.
The court sentenced him to a maximum of six years in prison after spending nearly three years on remand.
And one more from last year because it’s just so good.
Drug trafficker shares Hungry Jacks meal with undercover cop
A Melbourne crime clan family member busted for a large-scale meth trafficking racket after he ate Hungry Jacks with an undercover cop has been jailed.
Sadde Haddara, 40, was sentenced in the County Court on Wednesday to a minimum two years and six months jail after pleading guilty to trafficking a commercial quantity of meth.
Haddara was nabbed after he became mates with an undercover cop while working as a commercial cleaner in Melbourne’s CBD in January last year.
Haddara told the cop he could get “bags” of meth for $5000.
The court heard a drug deal between Haddara and the cop “did not go through” because the dealer was “preoccupied” with the arrest of his cousin Mohammed Haddara.
Haddara was jailed for a maximum four years and four months.
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