By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A MAN accused of threats to kill, robbery and trying to stab a stranger with a broken beer bottle while on bail has protested to a magistrate that he was facing only “petty charges”.
Ardem Aldobasic, 22, of Springvale, had been told by judge Pauline Spencer in Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 23 January that he was facing a lengthy jail term after pleading guilty to a recent two-month crime spree.
“These are petty charges. You seen my priors?” the previously jailed Aldobasic said.
Ms Spencer told Aldobasic that the charges were not a joke.
“That’s part of your issue. You’re not understanding how serious this is.”
Among the offences was crashing a stolen car at high-speed soon after swiping a slab of Bundy from a Fountain Gate bottle shop drive through about 1.20pm on 27 October.
Aldobasic stole the car from a Springvale home the day before and drove it in a petrol drive-off in Hampton Park and the bottle-shop heist.
After taking the Bundy slab, Aldobasic drove through the Fountain Gate precinct at a “fast rate of speed” and tyres screeching without slowing down for two speed humps, the court was told.
Seconds later, the car crashed into a light pole on Cranbourne-Narre Warren Road. Aldobasic was treated in hospital for a cut to his face from the crash.
He recorded a 0.037 blood-alcohol reading as well as levels of cannabis in his blood.
At the time, Aldobasic was a disqualified driver and was failing to comply with his community-work corrections order.
He was bailed and then a month later, threatened to stab and kill a stranger in Douglas Street, Noble Park.
He pulled out a beer bottle, smashed it on the pavement and tried to stab the victim in the stomach with the broken top-half of the bottle.
On 13 November, he threatened to kill a female relative as he broke into her house to search for his alcohol “stash”.
As he left the aggravated burglary, he picked up her small dog and threw it over her neighbour’s fence.
Police also seized an imitation sawn-off 0.22 rifle in Aldobasic’s boarding-house bedroom, and charged him over the attack and robbery of a man on a Springvale street in December.
During the attack, Aldobasic demanded the man’s cigarette, pushed him backwards over a metre-high fence and tried to strike him to the face.
Aldobasic told the court it was a “joke” he was charged with robbery for stealing tissues from the man’s jeans pocket.
Defence lawyer Arend Slink told the court his client had alcohol and cannabis issues, but didn’t concede a mental health link to his offending.
Aldobasic was “simply not able to come up with any explanation for his behaviour”, Mr Slink said.
The court was told Aldobasic had been admitted for cannabis and ice-induced psychoses twice since 2015.
Prior to sentencing, Ms Spencer ordered a Forensicare psychiatric assessment of Aldobasic to understand his offending, noting he was alcohol-affected for several offences.
She said his jail term would top the 42 days in pre-sentence detention, and would likely be followed by a community corrections order.
