By Cam Lucadou-Wells
AN ICE addict on a corrections order has been jailed after a spree of offences including stealing a $4500 motorbike from a co-offender’s Berwick family home garage.
Aaron Paul Berryman, 32, had claimed to police he thought he and the two co-offenders had permission to take the Honda motorcycle at 6.30am on 24 August, a court was told.
Two security doors at the home were forced open to gain entry, the court heard on 10 October.
The accused told the court “the drugs took me over” as he pleaded guilty to the string of offences in July and August.
The offences included the theft of three vehicles, a police pursuit, shop-stealing a $12 pack of ice creams, stealing Jerry cans from two separate premises, driving unlicenced, and possession of ice.
On 31 July, Berryman – subject to outstanding warrants – had requested to stay at a relative’s home on the proviso he would turn himself into police.
The next day when awoken by the relative, Berryman told her: “If you call the cops, I’ll burn your car to the ground.”
Next morning, the relative told Berryman to leave. He flung the victim’s phone into the wall and punched a hole in the house, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court was told.
A defence lawyer said Berryman had been using almost a gram of ice a day over the past two years.
His drug use and depression had escalated as a result of a relationship break-up, the lawyer said.
The accused had been unable to get out of bed some days to attend appointments as part of his CCO.
Since drying out from ice in custody, Berryman was in a “much better frame of mind to talk about things rationally,” the lawyer said.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen pondered the utility of putting Berryman on a treatment-based CCO, given his “appalling” compliance to past orders, including multiple offending.
“It’s when you get out (of custody) that’s the real question – will you comply?”
Berryman was jailed for 90 days and put on a drug and mental health treatment-based corrections order for 12 months, with judicial monitoring.
His driver’s licence was disqualified for 12 months.
