By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
AN intellectually-disabled man has been labelled a danger to the public after pleading guilty to a plethora of theft and driving offences including a terminated police pursuit and a drug-drive crash.
Romulus Puni, 29, with an IQ below 70 and a chronic ice addiction, allegedly crashed a car on a median strip on the South Gippsland Highway, Cranbourne North in August 2013, a court was told on Monday (24 August).
After being hospitalised, the Dandenong man was charged with driving while impaired by drugs, namely ice, driving while suspended and careless driving.
He told police at the time he’d fallen asleep after being awake for the past 36 hours.
In March 2014, Puni allegedly tried to evade a police car activating lights and sirens through Dandenong side streets.
At one point he was observed turning into the dead-end Ross Street at 75 km/h, causing police to terminate the pursuit, police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Richard Symmons told a court.
Puni allegedly escaped on foot through paddocks before police arrived at the vehicle, and denied any involvement during a police interview.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving while pursued by police, failing to stop a vehicle by request and driving while suspended.
In August 2014, he was charged with handling a stolen i-Phone 4s, which he told police he’d bought for two points of ‘shard’ or ice.
He was also charged that month over the theft of a Noble Park fruit and vegetable business’s van, which he and a co-accused painted to hide the business’s decals.
In October, he allegedly ran a red light in Henry Street Pakenham, was driving while disqualified, driving an unregistered vehicle and trailer and driving with false plates.
Puli also pleaded guilty to two petrol drive-offs within minutes in different vehicles at an Officer servo in November; one of the vehicles had a stolen number plate.
That day, he drove – while disqualified – to Pakenham police station to be interviewed for a separate matter.
There, he was identified by the servo manager who was dropping off CCTV footage of the thefts.
In January, he was charged with speeding at 95 km/h in an 80km/h zone on Wellington Road Mulgrave.
During the time of those offences, he was a disqualified or suspended driver.
Puni was already in custody, having been recently jailed by the County Court for five years and four months – with a non-parole period of two years and nine months.
Defence lawyer Nadine Daniel told the court on Monday that Puni wanted to resolve all the outstanding matters.
She said her client had an acquired brain injury from a serious assault in 2013 as well as a pre-existing developmental disorder which made him prone to negative peer influence.
The Samoan-born accused was raised by his uncle and aunt in New Zealand due to his mother using substances; his father was unknown.
His Australian visa was “at risk” and would be “cancelled in due course”, Ms Daniel told the court.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said he had to be careful not to create a “crushing” sentence on top of Pinu’s already substantial jail term.
He described Puni as an “appalling driver” who was a danger to the public, and had been before the County Court thrice in 10 years.
Mr Vandersteen noted that Puni’s passenger thought she’d die during the Dandenong police pursuit.
Puni was jailed for 12 months, of which eight months would be served concurrently with his County Court sentence.
He was also fined $1500, disqualified from driving for three years and ordered to pay $450 compensation for the stolen van.
