Fake security guard found armed at Bourke St memorial jailed
AN ARMED man masquerading as a security guard in Melbourne’s Bourke St mall in the days after January’s deadly car rampage has been jailed for a year.
Law & Order
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AN ARMED man masquerading as a security guard in Melbourne’s Bourke Street mall in the days after January’s deadly car tragedy was today locked up for a year.
Magistrate David Starvaggi did not take the prosecution and defence’s advice of slapping Aaron Purves with a hefty fine, and instead sent him straight to jail with no chance of parole.
The move came as a shock to those in the courtroom and brought Purves, 27, to tears.
But Purves spent less than an hour in custody, as his lawyer Michael Kuzilny immediately filed for an appeal.
He was then bailed to challenge the sentence in the County Court on February 21.
Purves had pleaded guilty to 160 charges, including multiple counts of a non-prohibited person possessing a general category handgun without licence, acting as a security guard without a licence, and making and using false documents.
The court heard Purves, from Berwick, had doctored his security and gun licences, issued in 2012, to have a 2018 expiry date when they lapsed in 2015.
He changed the five to an eight, the court heard, before successfully applying for two jobs at Melbourne security companies: Protectcorp Security and Executive Security Solutions.
He only came to the attention of authorities after a concerned journalist alerted police by sending them a photo of him wearing combat gear and armed with a handgun, with no visible identification, at the memorial site for the Bourke St victims on January 25.
He was not arrested until February 22.
Mr Kuzilny said Purves was on a lunch break in the CBD, having just completed a collection at an ATM while working for Protectcorp, and wanted to pay his respects to the Bourke St victims. He said his velcro ID badge had fallen off without his knowledge.
He conceded his client messed up by falsifying the documents, but that he couldn’t afford to renew the licence and was desperate for cash. He said he had an impeccable record as a security guard before this, and also was a star VFL footy player.
“He did a very stupid thing and for six months worked without a license. We all know good people can and do make mistakes during tough times,” Mr Kuzilny said, adding that he had broken up from his girlfriend and his father had suffered a heart attack.
But Mr Starvaggi showed no sympathy and described Purves’ crimes as “incomprehensible”.
“On the back of what was a very raw time for Melbourne citizens ... there’s you parading around in your tactical gear with a firearm strapped to your side,” Mr Starvaggi said.
He said he had engaged in a “fantasy lifestyle” by manufacturing documents.
“He falsified everything. It strikes right at the very heart of the integrity of the private security industry,” Mr Starvaggi said.
“I regard this as extraordinarily serious offending at the higher end of the scale.”
He sentenced him to an aggregate jail term of 12 months.
The court heard the two security companies who had hired Purves were also facing charges in the magistrates’ court next month.
