A 29-year-old man has faced Perth Magistrates Court charged with murder after he allegedly ran down a construction worker in Bayswater during an erratic driving spree with his two children in the car.
Raymond Henry Pianto was charged on Wednesday after 52-year-old Peter Sponza died as a result of injuries sustained when he was struck on Railway Parade in the suburb’s town centre about 11am the day before.
Raymond Pianto allegedly threatened members of the public in Bayswater before fatally striking a man with his car.Credit: 9News Perth
Police had responded to reports of a male driver in a silver Holden Commodore acting erratically and armed with a knife, and it was alleged the vehicle had hit several other cars before Sponza was struck.
Pianto was taken into custody at the scene and faced court on Thursday morning, where he was read five charges, four of which related to the Bayswater incident.
Prosecutors alleged Pianto had been armed with a “hunting-style knife” that would “likely cause fear”, that he damaged four tyres of a stranger’s Ford Ranger, and that he was driving in a reckless manner.
Peter Sponza.
He was also charged with assaulting a family member in Maddington just days before the alleged rampage.
During a press conference on Tuesday, police alleged Pianto had his two children in the car while he was driving erratically through Bayswater.
In court on Thursday, Pianto told the magistrate he understood the charges that were put to him, and was remanded in custody.
He will appear in Stirling Gardens Magistrate Court on January 22.
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