By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Cranbourne East man has been jailed for repeated disqualified driving – and continues to be scarred by a horrific crime in his teens, a court heard.
The 42-year-old man, who had a “very significant” criminal history, including stints in jail, was caught twice illegally behind the wheel in June and September, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard on 30 April.
On the second occasion, there was methamphetamine detected in his system. His vehicle was impounded at a cost of $1005.
At the time he was serving two corrections orders including drug and mental health treatment. It was nearly the 30th time he had driven a car while disqualified or suspended.
A defence lawyer conceded that the man – an on-and-off user for 15 years – had ongoing issues with ‘ice’ but had made “significant steps” to treating his post-traumatic stress.
As a teenager, the man had witnessed his mother’s killing and was brutally attacked during the same incident.
The accused offender was however acquitted of murder, and jailed for the then-teenager’s attempted murder.
It was an outcome that the traumatised man still struggled to reconcile. He still held anger and resentment, the lawyer said.
He had recently been diagnosed with epilepsy and a “shadowing” around the heart linked to his years of drug abuse.
During the disqualified driving, the man had struggled to return to a “normal way of life” after just being released from prison, the lawyer said.
He bought a car after a victims-of-crime payout at 16 without being properly licenced, and his continual illegal driving had continued from there, the lawyer said.
“Probably for the first time in his life, on his instructions, he’s said if he’s a person behind the wheel of a car, he will offend.
“So with his partner’s support, his access to a motor vehicle has been taken away.”
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said he was not surprised the man had been impacted by the dark events in his youth.
The man was jailed for six months and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
He was also jailed concurrently for breaching a corrections order and re-sentenced for trafficking ice and three other disqualified driving offences.
