Comanchero bikie thug’s mum blasts detective as ‘stalking dog’
The mother of a Comanchero bikie jailed over extortion and theft charges has been dragged from Melbourne’s County Court by her daughter after screaming at the detective who got her son locked up.
Law & Order
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The mother of a standover bikie thug has launched an emotion-fuelled tirade in court, calling the detective responsible for locking up her son a “stalking dog”.
Comanchero Luke Jolly-Bishop, 26, was today jailed in the County Court for two years and 10 months over extortion and theft charges.
“Are you happy?” his mother, Debbie, yelled at a bikie-busting Echo Taskforce detective following the sentence. “My son did nothing”.
As her daughter tried to drag her from the courtroom, she continued: “You stalking dog. You stay away from my house”.
Moments earlier, County Court Judge Robert Dyer had said the only just punishment was imprisonment, dismissing Jolly-Bishop’s pleas to be freed on a community correction order.
Jolly-Bishop had even offered, if released, to not associate with his bikie mates any more, saying he wanted to turn his life around so he could be in his young daughter’s life.
But Mr Dyer said such an order with non-association clauses would only “set him up to fail”.
The experienced judge said leaving an outlaw motorcycle gang wasn’t as simple as saying “whilst I’ve enjoyed our shared interest of motorcycles, I wish to tender my resignation ... especially if you are concerned about your kneecaps”.
Jolly-Bishop extorted his victim of thousands of dollars in the month to November 3, 2017, threatening to injure the man if he failed to pay.
He and another bikie associate then raided the victim’s home, stealing items including a TV, two canvas paintings and 10 pairs of shoes, after he failed to show at a meeting point to hand over cash.
The serious offending happened just eight months after Jolly-Bishop was released from prison after serving more than five years over a series of armed robberies inspired by the notorious ‘Postcard Bandit’.
In 2011, Jolly-Bishop, then 18, held up 14 businesses, including supermarkets, bottle shops and fuel stations, in a six-week crime spree that netted more than $20,000 of cash and goods.
He was high on drugs at the time and became inspired to commit the crimes after watching TV movie The Postcard Bandit, about notorious bank robber Brenden James Abbott.
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At an earlier hearing, Judge Dyer said Jolly-Bishop’s criminal history was “troubling” and “makes chilling reading”.
Sentencing him today, he gave Jolly-Bishop a discount for his plea of guilty to extortion, fail to comply with an order to provide information, commit an indictable offence on bail, and two counts of theft.
But his prospects of rehabilitation, he said, were “guarded” and would solely rely on him avoiding trouble in the future.
“I do hope that things turn around for you on your release,” Judge Dyer said.
With time already served, Jolly-Bishop could be released on parole as early as May next year.