Guilty plea to theft
Man caught with stolen personal documents
A CORIO man who broke into a home to steal $100 in cash tried to hide from police by crawling under a quad bike, a court has heard.
Despite successfully breaking into the home and stealing the cash, Robert Harvey was found in the area three hours later attempting to hide from witnesses and police in a garage.
Officers found him on the floor by a quad bike.
Harvey pleaded guilty to theft charges in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Friday but will not be sentenced until next year.
The court heard that, after the arrest, police searched his Washington St home and found an 18cm black handled fishing knife.
They also located licences, Medicare cards, passports not in his name and a wallet full of cards belonging to other people.
During the search, police located assorted electrical items, mobile phones, two gaming consoles and assorted jewellery.
His defence lawyer, Megan Campbell, agreed sentencing Harvey would be “particularly complex” given his “significant criminal history”.
She has asked the court to adjourn the matter to allow his legal team time to obtain a psychological report.
“(It will) really capture his tragic personal history and his multiple and overlapping diagnoses,” Ms Campbell said.
She added the report would separate Harvey’s offending with mental health issues and drug abuse.
Magistrate Peter Mellas allowed the defence time to submit these documents and held over sentencing for March 2023.
In the meantime, Harvey will be assessed on his suit
ability for a community corrections order.