Connor Uebergang jailed on dozens of charges after crime spree

A magistrate has delivered a stark warning to a serial car thief, telling him if he doesn’t stay off drugs he will end up killing someone.

Connor Uebergang pleaded guilty to a raft of offences last week, including recklessly causing injury.

A magistrate has delivered a stark warning to a young serial offender, telling him if he doesn’t stay off drugs he will end up killing someone.

Connor Uebergang, 21, appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court via videolink on Wednesday for sentencing, having earlier pleaded guilty to 49 charges.

The charges stemmed from a crime spree between August and October last year, in which Uebergang stole cars and bank cards, and committed burglaries.

In one instance, Uebergang attempted to steal the car of an 87-year-old man, who was thrown from the car after trying to stop the thief.

Magistrate Ann McGarvie jailed Uebergang for eight months, to be followed by a 18-month community corrections order (CCO).

In handing down her sentence, Ms McGarvie said Uebergang began his crime spree “almost immediately” after being released following a two-and-a-half year jail sentence.

“You just continued to reoffend in the almost exactly the same manner as your past history has shown,” Ms McGarvie said.

She highlighted the incident involving the 87-year-old victim, who “sustained some pretty serious torn skin and bruised arms” in the incident.

She noted the impact the crime had on the man, including trouble sleeping, financial losses through lost work and damaged eyesight.

She accepted that Uebergang had shown genuine remorse about the incident, as he’s “not generally a violent person”.

“Your main modus operandi … is dishonesty,” Ms McGarvie said.

Ms McGarvie said Uebergang was right to tell his corrections assessor it was not too late to turn his life around.

She said he can, and she hoped he did but if he failed on the CCO upon his release, the “only option” left to the courts would be jail.

“You’re going up the scale and if you don’t change your behaviour, you will just be going through a revolving door.

“You’ll be released, you’ll reoffend and you’ll go back in.”

Ms McGarvie also warned Uebergang that if he didn’t stop using drugs it would end in tragedy.

“Eventually someone will, through your actions, probably be killed if you don’t kill yourself,” she said.

Uebergang was convicted and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Originally published as Connor Uebergang jailed on dozens of charges after crime spree