Armed robber Shane Cox dislocates hip to avoid custody

A Melbourne armed robber has an interesting trick that helps him avoid being locked up — but it’s not for the faint hearted.

A crafty criminal has dislocated his hip 11 times after being arrested so he can avoid time in the slammer in favour of a comfy hospital bed.

Shane Cox, 39, was arrested in August after he stole more than $500 of groceries from a Deer Park supermarket, a police prosecutor told the court.

But he weaseled himself out of a police interview when cops at Sunshine police station pulled him from the back of the divvy van only to find he’d dislocated his hip en route.

The court heard Cox, a drug user, had dislocated his own hip almost a dozen times in the past to avoid being locked up or interviewed by police.

Cox’s efforts meant he bypassed the police holding cell and was rushed to a clean, comfortable bed at Footscray Hospital where he was tended to by medical staff.

A fundraiser on Cox’s Facebook page showed he attempted to crowdfund $15,000 last year from friends and the public to fix the bung hip he kept dislocating during his run ins with the law.

He had raised just $25 from one donor when the Leader checked his page.

The convicted armed robber pleaded guilty to charges including theft and car theft at Werribee Magistrates’ Court on Friday, February 19.

Cox’s lawyer, Katie Powell, told the court on Friday her client initially injured his hip at work four years ago.

He had since undergone two hip replacements, she told the court, and he was high on the drug ice during his latest spate of offending.

“He had been in quite an extensive relapse into ice use, he’d been up for around seven or eight days,” Ms Powell told the court.

“Certainly his judgment around the time was far off. ... his decision making at the time was severely impacted.”

Magistrate Alanna Duffy noted Cox had only recently been released from jail after he was convicted by the County Court and served time for armed robbery.

The court heard he also tried to steal a woman’s car from the Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Melton West in January.

Cox had spent 26 days in presentence detention as of Friday, Ms Powell told the court, and she asked the court to consider a combination sentence comprised of prison time and a community corrections order upon his release.

Ms Duffy adjourned the matter for sentencing on February 25.

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