By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Springvale South man has been jailed without parole for a terrifying reign of family violence including cutting off and then smashing up his ex-partner’s car during an erratic pursuit.
The 26-year-old repeat offender pleaded guilty to a long list of charges including assault, destroying property, theft, breaching an intervention order and failing to answer bail at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 10 July.
According to a police summary, the man drove “erratically to intimidate the victim” and demanded for her to pull over on 26 April.
He cut her off near the Forster Road on-ramp to Monash Freeway in Mt Waverley. He then damaged the car by striking the glass and pulling off the side mirror, police stated.
The attacker was scared off by tooting motorists.
When interviewed by police, the man warned that if he was charged, “for your sake and hers, don’t release me!”
During an earlier screaming outburst at home, he choked and punched the victim to the head, and then destroyed two mirrors and a lamp.
He injured himself while head-butting the bedroom door. It was all due to “anger and frustration”, he told police.
“I said to her don’t lie. No need to lie,” the man said.
“You can be honest with me. You’re making me crazy. And I just flipped it.”
He had been on a community corrections order at the time.
A defence lawyer told the court that the accused’s diagnosed ADHD contributed to his offending. He had good work history and family support, the lawyer said.
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell said the car-pursuit especially was at the “high-end” of the serious offending.
She noted the man was a repeat offender on family violence matters, including two convictions for breaching intervention orders.
He was jailed for eight months, including 94 days of pre-sentence detention.
