How James Gargasoulas went from petty crime to mass murderer
Mass murderer James Gargasoulas’ delusions led him to believe a policeman was planning to kill him in the weeks before his deadly rampage, but police who knew him from years earlier say he was calculating, not crazy.
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Bourke St killer James Gargasoulas’ delusions led him to believe a policeman was planning to kill him in the weeks before mowing down 33 people, murdering six, indiscriminately.
Gargasoulas, on Tuesday found guilty of the hideous attack in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD on January 20, 2017, had also become obsessive and had even performed a burnout outside the St Kilda cop shop.
Police who recall Gargasoulas from years earlier say he was calculating, not crazy.
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In the first half of 2010 Gargasoulas was involved in elaborate fraud schemes where he and his associates would steal people’s mail from the Southbank area and create false identities to open bank accounts. This was just one of the scams to supplement his social security payments.
But the kind of discipline required for more complex offending dissipated as he became increasingly erratic and his dependence on drugs grew.
Rip-offs linked to Gargasoulas were also committed on the outer edges of Adelaide some years before he would become a mass killer.
One officer said he was “bemused’’ by Gargasoulas’s attempts to put together an insanity defence.
“He was a heavy drug user even at that time (2010) but I would never have had him pegged as the kind of bloke who would pull off something like this,’’ the officer said.
“I don’t think he was crazy, I just think he lost it.
“He fried himself on drugs.
“In the end he didn’t know whether he was Arthur or Martha.’’
Although for many years he was a constant thorn in the side of police, Gargasoulas was, on balance, “okay’’ to deal with for police and would most commonly plead guilty to offences.
But following his “no show’’ at a magistrates’ court hearing while on bail in early 2016, for which a warrant was issued for his arrest, Gargasoulas travelled to Coober Pedy to deal with his demons.
After his return to the outback opal mining town where his father lived, Gargasoulas began dealing methamphetamine.
When Gargasoulas returned to Melbourne in about October that year, he wasted no time in agitating police once again.
Among his crimes was driving at “warp’’ speed on the wrong side of St Kilda Rd on November 19, when police attempted to intercept him.
In early January, he performed a burnout outside the St Kilda Police Station. He was driving a stolen car and, when arrested on January 14, 2017, warrants for Gargasoulas’ arrest were outstanding.
Surprisingly, Gargasoulas during a police interview admitted to crimes police were unaware he had committed. Those charges were being processed while a bail hearing was taking place at the station.
For reasons that remain unclear, a bail justice released Gargasoulas after he argued he was not a “flight risk’’ and on the undertaking he turned to court the next week despite police opposing it.
Within a week there would be carnage on Bourke St.
But before that Gargasoulas would flag his escalating instability.
There was also an impromptu visit to the station, in which he “ranted and raved’’ in the foyer.
He had also begun calling Triple 0 and demanding to speak to a police officer whom he had become obsessive over.
Gargasoulas’ release on January 14, however, upset police.
On Friday, at 2am, January 20, Gargasoulas took his criminality to the next level.
His brother, Angelo, had been in a relationship with a well-known drug cook. It is believed Gargasoulas stabbed him in Windsor because he disagreed with him being in a gay relationship.
Police later that day would spot Gargasoulas and he would lead them on a two-hour pursuit.
Once Gargasoulas reached Flinders St, just outside Flinders Street Station, police were powerless.
When he headed north along Swanston St, it was believed he would drive straight out of the city.
Instead, he mounted the footpath and turned left on Bourke St.
Now the trial is over, a coronial inquest is set to be held. It will deal with all the circumstances that led to one of the worst crimes in Australian history in which, apart from the direct victims, more than 1200 people were affected and referred to case management services.
GARGASOULAS’ HISTORY OF CRIME
2010
■ Criminal damage
■ Theft
■ Failure to answer bail
■ Intentionally causing injury
■ Deal with proceeds of crime
■ Reckless conduct endangering life
2011
■ Drink driving
■ Possession of controlled weapon
■ Affray
2013
■ Theft
■ Theft of a motor vehicle
■ Burglary
■ Criminal damage
■ Unlicensed driving
2014
■ Driving while disqualified
■ Theft of a motor vehicle
2015
■ Theft
■ Speeding
■ Driving while disqualified
2018
■ Possess methylamphetamine