Thug turned Comanchero facing more jail time
A thug inspired by the Postcard Bandit decided he needed a new career after being released from a lengthy prison stint — as a bikie enforcer. Now he’s staring at more jail time after a botched extortion attempt.
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A thug with a “chilling” rapsheet became an outlaw bikie extortionist just months after serving more than five years in jail over a crime spree inspired by the Postcard Bandit.
Luke Jolly-Bishop never learnt his lesson after being locked up over a series of terrifying armed robberies in 2011 — and is now facing more time behind bars for extortion and theft.
The County Court heard he extorted his victim of thousands of dollars in the month to November 3, 2017 — eight months after being freed from his lengthy stint in prison.
The patched Comanchero and a bikie co-accused threatened to injure the man if he failed to pay up.
Then when the victim fled Melbourne in fear of his life, they raided his home, stealing items including a TV and two canvas paintings.
“You’re f----d bro,” Jolly-Bishop told the man in a recorded phone conversation when he failed to show at a meeting point to handover cash.
The victim, in a statement read out in court, said the offending had “destroyed my mental wellbeing” and that he now lives in constant fear, looking over his shoulder.
Only aged 21, he had to claim bankruptcy after “they took everything from me weekly”.
Jolly-Bishop has pleaded guilty to extortion with threat to inflict injury, fail to comply with an order to provide information, commit an indictable offence on bail, and two counts of theft.
County Court Judge Robert Dyer said the only just punishment was imprisonment.
He said Jolly-Bishop’s prior offending combined with his association with a bikie gang was concerning for his prospects of rehabilitation.
“It’s a troubling criminal history — it makes chilling reading,” Judge Dyer said.
Aged 18 and inspired after watching TV movie, The Postcard Bandit, about notorious bank robber Brenden James Abbott, Jolly-Bishop held up 14 businesses including supermarkets, bottle shops and fuel stations.
He and his co-offenders were armed with machetes, knives, tomahawks and hammers and netted more than $20,000 of cash and goods.
Jolly-Bishop was jailed for five years and one month over the six-week crime spree.
He was first released on parole in March 2015, but had it revoked six months later when he was involved in an affray inside a nightclub.
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In February 2017, after serving out his sentence — two months was served concurrently for the affray — he was released again.
A month after his release he was charged with recklessly and intentionally causing injury and unlawful assault.
On bail for this offending, which he was later convicted and jailed for nine months, he was involved in the extortion.
Prosecutor Jamie Singh urged Judge Dyer to send a deterrence to would-be offenders by locking up Jolly-Bishop for longer.
But Jolly-Bishop’s lawyer pushed for him to be sentenced to the 371 days of time he has already served on remand and freed onto a community correction order.
The maximum penalty for his offending is 15 years jail.
He will be sentenced on September 6.