How police believe Jonathan Dick survived on the run for 2½ years
Police always suspected that wanted fugitive Jonathan Dick was hiding in plain sight, and today revealed how the accused murderer survived on the run for 2½ years. It comes as terrifying footage of his alleged hammer attack on a former schoolmate was uncovered.
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Wanted fugitive Jonathan Dick hid in plain sight in Fitzroy’s homeless community and survived off food from community gardens, police believe.
Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said it was possible the murder accused also got supplies from homeless agencies including in the CBD.
“We are still piecing together his movements but for a little period of time it appears he was living in the Fitzroy area in a homeless capacity, and in that time period we also had him in the country and Mornington Peninsula areas, where he was getting food from community gardens,” he told 3AW.
Mr Ashton said police had received sightings of him “all over Victoria” including country areas and the Mornington Peninsula and that he was clever at avoiding CCTV.
“We don’t have facial recognition technology like in Bourne Identity that finds people and plucks them out,” he said.
It follows earlier suspicions that Mr Dick could have been hiding “in plain sight”, possibly getting by with cash-in-hand jobs.
Mr Ashton said police were also investigating whether members of the community were helping him avoid capture. He said anyone found to be helping Mr Dick could face aiding and abetting charges.
Last year, a $100,000 reward was announced for information leading to his capture.
Armed Crime Squad detectives have laid two further charges against Mr Dick this morning, charging him with the attempted murder and stalking of former school friend David Cammarata after an alleged hammer attack in Keilor last August.
Mr Dick fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today, where court documents alleged he followed Mr Cammarata to his place of work in Melbourne’s CBD on Monday morning “with the intention of causing physical or mental harm”.
Dick was composed and polite as he answered magistrate Luisa Bazzani’s questions.
The court heard it was Dick’s first time in custody and that he suffered no health issues other than the injuries sustained during his arrest.
“He should be assessed in relation to those injuries if not already” Ms Bazzani said.
He was remanded in custody until a committal hearing on December 10.
He was yesterday charged with murder over the brutal samurai sword death of his brother, David, at Westfield Doncaster shopping centre in February 2017.
TERRIFYING HAMMER AMBUSH CAUGHT ON VIDEO
Disturbing footage has emerged of the moment a man believed to be fugitive Jonathan Dick allegedly bashed a hammer into his former schoolmate’s face.
The murder suspect was one of the state’s most wanted men before his capture yesterday and allegedly killed his own brother with a samurai sword and last year attacked a schoolfriend with a hammer.
In the video obtained by 9 News, a man alleged to be Mr Dick emerges from under a staircase outside his friend’s home, wielding the hammer and striking at his friend’s face.
It comes as police alleged Mr Dick had a “kill list” of former associates and stalked his two-time victim days before his dramatic citizen’s arrest in the heart of Melbourne yesterday.
Mr Dick, 41, was restrained by former schoolmate David Cammarata, and his business partner Dion Raiola, after they saw him spying on them in a Flinders St carpark.
Mr Dick — who has been on the run from police for 2½ years — was seen in the carpark a week earlier, witnesses claimed. Police scoured CCTV footage from the carpark but could not confirm it was him.
It can also be revealed Mr Dick, who was charged over the brutal 2017 samurai sword murder of his brother at Westfield Doncaster shopping centre, allegedly had a “manifesto” of people he was hunting.
Sources told the Herald Sun his targets were warned by detectives, with some offered protection.
It is understood a woman from his past was among those on the hit list.
Mr Ashton said police are investigating whether Mr Dick was in the Flinders St car park yesterday to carry out a plot to harm a target on his “hit list”.
“There is information he was looking to act out violently against a list of people he knew and one of the streams being investigated is that he attempted to do that yesterday,” he said.
Mr Ashton said he was “not against” have-a-go heroes stepping in to take down suspects wanted by police.
“It’s good that people are stepping up but they need to know it comes with risk,” he said.
Mr Dick appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last night after being charged with murder. He didn’t speak during the 90-second hearing and was covered in cuts and bruises.
The court heard he had been seen by a medical practitioner for his injuries. It was also Mr Dick’s first time in custody.
ALLEGED VICTIM’S RELIEF AT CAPTURE
Mr Cammarata, a father of three young boys, was attacked with a hammer outside his family home in Keilor last August, allegedly by Mr Dick.
The jeweller said he could now stop looking over his shoulder.
“I always thought he was going to come back for me and I’ve had to psych myself back up for war,” he told the Herald Sun.
Last week Mr Cammarata was warned of a potential sighting of Mr Dick in the carpark he uses each day for work.
As he stepped out of his car yesterday, he saw Mr Dick out of the corner of his eye.
By sheer coincidence, his colleague and family member, Mr Raiola, arrived at the same time and helped him chase down the wanted fugitive.
The pair took him to the ground and held him there until police arrived.
“I just thought, this has to be done,” said Mr Cammarata.
Mr Cammarata is at a loss as to why he became a target.
He attended Whittlesea High School with Mr Dick but said he was unaware of any bad blood until the day Mr Dick allegedly tried to kill him.
After the ambush, Mr Cammarata relocated his family and was on constant alert.
Last night, he was home with his family icing his hand and leg and celebrating a future free of fear.
“I will have a beer and sleep through the night without listening to every creak and sound,” he said.
Mr Cammarata and his business partner, Mr Raiola of Diamond Line Jeweller in Collins St, are now eligible for that reward.
Mr Raiola described being the pair to take him down as “poetic justice.”
“I would fantasise about the capture of him,” he said.
“It was good to witness as his freedom was taken away from him and for David to see him on the ground, and the handcuffs going on.”
Mr Dick has long battled mental health conditions.
Forensic officers spent Monday combing the scene in Hosier Lane for evidence.
A hammer, 25cm knife and scissors were found in a bucket hung from a bike believed to have belonged to Mr Dick.
The bucket also contained multiple sets of gloves, an orange hi-vis jacket and a copy of the Herald Sun.
Police had long held the theory Mr Dick had managed to stay off-grid with the help of another person. How he managed to evade capture for so long is expected to form a big part of the homicide inquiry.
Mr Dick’s mother, Carol Cloke, was relieved at his arrest.
“I’m overwhelmed by the news that my son has been found,” she said. “All I ever wanted was for him to be found alive and I feel comfort in that.”
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Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton praised the men for their heroic efforts.
He believed Mr Dick had been sleeping rough in the lead-up to his arrest.
However, police suspect he may have had help to lie low since his brother’s murder.
This is expected to form a major part of the ongoing police inquiry.
“He didn’t rely on his regular network of people that we knew about,” Mr Ashton said.
“It seems as though of recent times he’s been sleeping rough and that’s made the task even more challenging.
“There are some occasions, and they’re pretty rare, where someone is at large for this length of time.”