Guilty plea to charges

The words ‘‘who’s next, you’re next’’ were written on what police described as a wooden bat found during a search of a car in Shepparton.

Gurhan Baser, 28, of Tatura, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to carrying a dangerous article in a public place, driving while suspended and two counts of disqualified driving.

Prosecutor Senior Constable Gary Steel told the court police found a ‘‘wooden implement’’ that was ‘‘shaped like a bat’’ between the driver’s seat and the car door when they pulled Baser over in Shepparton on January 19 last year.

On it were written the words ‘‘who’s next, you’re next’’, Sen Constable Steel said.

The court was told that when interviewed by police, Baser said it was ‘‘a stick I use to turn off the spray pump at the farm because I have a sore shoulder’’.

He said someone had written on it and could give no appropriate reason why it was not stored at the farm.

Sen Constable Steel also told the court of three times Baser was caught driving without a licence.

The first was in Shepparton on September 22 last year, when he told police he thought he still had his licence.

The second was at a service station at Byrneside on November 3 last year when he told police he was not driving the vehicle, however, CCTV footage showed he was.

The last one was in a car park in Vaughan St, Shepparton, on March 28, when Baser reversed away after police knocked on his car window.

The court also heard how he had breached a community corrections order he was on by leaving Victoria, despite not being allowed to.

Baser’s solicitor Emma King told the court her client had ‘‘gone back to his old ways’’ when he got out of jail in September last year, but had since moved to Sydney and gotten off drugs.

She said moving to NSW had ‘‘acted as a circuit breaker’’ for Baser and he had been able to engage reasonably with treatment since then.

Ms King urged the magistrate not to send him back to prison which she said ‘‘had the potential to put him back in touch with associated and return him back to drugs’’.

A Victorian Corrections officer told the court Baser’s community corrections order had now expired, but he still had 82 hours of community work outstanding.

Magistrate Peter Mithen fined Baser $1500 on the new charges and found the corrections breach proven and fined him a further $1500 for the matters it related to.

Baser was also disqualified from driving for a further six months.

‘‘I hope with your attitude change you will not drive, otherwise you are signing your own warrant,’’ Mr Mithen said.