By Brendan Rees
A thug who bashed a 32-year-old man before stealing his car as he parked at Cranbourne Bunnings has been jailed.
Jamie Crockett was sentenced to the County Court of Victoria on 19 May to two years, six months and seven days in jail after pleading guilty to carjacking and breach of parole. His driver’s licence was also cancelled and disqualified for a two-year period.
In her sentencing remarks, Judge Susan Pullen said the victim was dragged out of his car by the shirtfront of Crockett after he parked his ute at the trade section of Cranbourne Bunnings about 8.20pm on 29 January, 2018.
The victim was punched to the mouth and head “a few times” but wasn’t able to fight back as he noticed one of the men in a Mazda sedan parked next to his car was armed with a piece of black piping, Judge Pullen said.
The court was told Crocket, 23, had jumped into the ute and locked the doors before the victim could get up. The victim eventually got to his feet and called triple-zero in the Bunnings store.
Judge Pullen said minutes before the incident the victim had been travelling in his ute along Clyde Road in Berwick when he noticed Crockett’s car, a Mazda 3 sedan, “driving all over the road”
The victim also had to brake heavily after the Mazda “lost traction“ and “slid across“ his path at the roundabout of Narre Warren Cranbourne Road and Thompsons Road.
At this point, one of the men in the Mazda gave the victim “the bird” while the rest joined in throwing food and drinks at his vehicle before following the victim to Bunnings, the court heard.
Crockett, who has an extensive criminal history, was interviewed at Pakenham police station the following day but denied being involved in the carjacking incident.
Eleven days’ later police recovered the victim’s ute after it had been involved in a collision – with police also finding a false registration plate affixed to the front of the car.
The court was told Crockett had a troubled upbringing with “a lot of alcohol and violence” at home as well as being sexually abused by his half-brother when he was a boy.
He was diagnosed with aggressive behaviour and depression in 2015 and also had a history of using drugs including GHB amphetamine, cannabis, and methamphetamine.
Crockett, who has two children to different partners, was severely bullied at school and was the “target of a gang bashing” while in Year 7 at a Pakenham Secondary College and hospitalised as a result.
“From then you had to fend for yourself and as a result started mixing with the wrong people and using drugs,” Judge Pullen said, adding Crockett had attended about four to five high schools.
The court was told Crockett’s partner described him as “family orientated, caring and respectful” who “had become determined to better yourself and be a better father”.
However, in her sentencing remarks, Judge Pullen said she had “guarded optimism” regarding Crockett’s rehabilitation prospects, given his “repeated persistent offending over the years”.
“Terms of detention and imprisonment have not deterred you,” she said.
“The need to protect the community from you will be hopefully further reduced by you continuing to address your drugs/alcohol anger and mental health issues.”
