Ballarat court house
A MAN who’s never held a driver’s license claims he’s “addicted” to getting behind the wheel following his arrest over a string of driving offences, a court has heard.
Jamie Brincat, 19, also committed a burglary at a Ballarat business during the series of offences, in which a friend went in and asked for work while he stole a laptop from another room in the premises.
Brincat appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to 22 offences, including burglary, theft and more than a dozen driving charges.
Magistrate Kay Robertson adjourned sentencing to November 8 to enable a pre-sentence report to be compiled.
The court heard that on June 23 last year Brincat and another man went to KKC Property in Wendouree.
Both were known to staff. The other man, who was a previous employee, began discussing the prospect of future employment with a staff member.
While they talked, Brincat went into another room and stole a laptop before the pair left the premises.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Steve Kent said less than a month later police executed a search warrant at Brincat’s home and found a stolen jet ski, which had been taken from a Wendouree storage yard. Police did not claim Brincat stole the jet ski.
On one of the four occasions Brincat was picked up for unlicensed driving, the Wendouree man was caught sliding his car out around a corner in Gillies Street last February.
When police pulled him over they discovered he had no number plates, no license and no rear brakes. The vehicle was impounded for 30 days.
Defence lawyer Jill Fischer admitted her client had a “significant” prior history for a teenager.
“This young man has an acquired brain injury,” Ms Fischer said.
“It doesn’t excuse his actions, he knows it’s wrong, however, it does seem to prevent his ability to think through his actions.”
Despite adjourning sentencing, magistrate Kay Robertson made it clear that Brincat faces a possible jail term.
“It’s really fundamental that he stops driving cars or I’m going to lock him up,” she said.
