By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
A MAN who used a stolen firearms licence to successfully apply for a $40,000 Commonwealth Bank credit card account and stole a variety of goods at Fountain Gate shopping centre has been jailed for three months.
Bradley Marsh, 29, withdrew $15,000 in two transactions from the account at the Waverley Gardens and Keysborough branches in March before the bank’s fraud unit detected some “inconsistencies”, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court was told.
When he attempted to later withdraw the remaining $25,000 on 10 March, police were called and he was arrested.
The firearms licence had been inside a wallet stolen from a car on Christmas Day 2015.
Unknown to the victim, Marsh produced the ID at the Waverley Gardens branch to open a credit card account as well as a false Westpac statement and payslips in the victim’s name.
Marsh was also charged with using boltcutters to steal a Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge on display at a mobile phone store in Fountain Gate shopping centre on 13 April.
He was soon detained by nearby Myer security staff after being seen stealing $340 worth of perfume.
Marsh admitted to also stealing $140 runners from a sport store.
Police found a “new and un-used” knife and pharmaceutical and illicit drugs in Marsh’s bum bag and the phone and bolt cutters in his jacket.
He was also charged with two counts of driving disqualified in Narre Warren on 21 December and 10 January.
Marsh’s lawyer said the accused had not been using ice for the past three months after a decade-long addiction.
His crimes were motivated by “money issues” at home as well as some “pressure” from an associate who he owed money to, the lawyer said.
“He was obtaining money to pay off a debt he owed someone. I can’t go into what was said by the associate.”
Marsh had been holding the drugs found at Fountain Gate for a friend, the court was told.
Marsh had no plans to drive during his two-year disqualification because he had no vehicle. His car had been written off in a crash recently.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said the accused’s obtaining property by deception showed an element of planning and sophistication to initially gain the credit-card account.
He said Marsh would be jailed on the disqualified driving charges alone due to his previous 11 unlicensed driving convictions.
Mr Vandersteen took into account Marsh’s family support including his wife and mother in court, as well as the accused’s ice addiction at the time.
Marsh was ordered to complete a 12-month community corrections order – including drug and mental health treatment – after his prison stint.
He was disqualified from driving for 18 months and ordered to provide a DNA sample to police.
Mr Vandersteen also ordered a certificate describing the firearms licence holder as a victim in the incident in case the fraud affects his credit rating.
