news, crime, Melanie Jones, Mercedes, Mercedes-Benz, Narrabundah, Daniel Craft
Three people lured a drunk-driver to Narrabundah baseball park where they “senselessly” attacked him and stole his worn out Mercedes-Benz. One of the trio, Melanie Jones, fronted the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday. A jury last month found her guilty of aggravated robbery over the incident, which happened in the early hours of December 12, 2019. In a judgment published on Wednesday, Justice Michael Elkaim said Jones – born in 1989 – gave police an “obviously fabricated” version of events, which was “at best a somewhat amateur attempt to protect the identity” of her two co-offenders. During Jones’ trial, prosecutors alleged she was with two men who set upon the victim at the baseball park and left him with “two long gashes to the head” and a broken finger. They alleged the trio then stole the man’s car. But Jones claimed she’d been at the baseball park with the victim alone, and injured him in an attempt to “ward off his inappropriate advances”. The jury rejected Jones’ story and found one of the men accused of being involved in the robbery not guilty. There wasn’t enough evidence to support he had been at the baseball park that night. Justice Elkaim on Wednesday said the robbery was “no doubt motivated by wanting to have a good time, induced by drugs and alcohol, for the short-term pleasure of stealing the victim’s motor car”. He described the car as a worn out Mercedes-Benz that had travelled more than 200,000 kilometres, and its owner as “a somewhat unappealing person” who had spent the night driving drunk, under the influence of cannabis and in breach of his own bail conditions. “Nevertheless, he was significantly injured and the criminal law does not cater for contributory negligence,” Justice Elkaim said. The judge said Jones had been in custody since December last year for the crime and had a “truly tragic background”. Taking into account the time Jones had already served, Justice Elkaim sentenced her to a total three years’ prison, but suspended the sentence from Wednesday upon her entering into an 18-month good behaviour order.
/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc7d7w1drznjoigsp931z.jpg/r0_188_4256_2593_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
Three people lured a drunk-driver to Narrabundah baseball park where they “senselessly” attacked him and stole his worn out Mercedes-Benz.
One of the trio, Melanie Jones, fronted the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday.
A jury last month found her guilty of aggravated robbery over the incident, which happened in the early hours of December 12, 2019.
In a judgment published on Wednesday, Justice Michael Elkaim said Jones – born in 1989 – gave police an “obviously fabricated” version of events, which was “at best a somewhat amateur attempt to protect the identity” of her two co-offenders.
During Jones’ trial, prosecutors alleged she was with two men who set upon the victim at the baseball park and left him with “two long gashes to the head” and a broken finger. They alleged the trio then stole the man’s car.
But Jones claimed she’d been at the baseball park with the victim alone, and injured him in an attempt to “ward off his inappropriate advances”.
The jury rejected Jones’ story and found one of the men accused of being involved in the robbery not guilty. There wasn’t enough evidence to support he had been at the baseball park that night.
Justice Elkaim on Wednesday said the robbery was “no doubt motivated by wanting to have a good time, induced by drugs and alcohol, for the short-term pleasure of stealing the victim’s motor car”.
He described the car as a worn out Mercedes-Benz that had travelled more than 200,000 kilometres, and its owner as “a somewhat unappealing person” who had spent the night driving drunk, under the influence of cannabis and in breach of his own bail conditions.
“Nevertheless, he was significantly injured and the criminal law does not cater for contributory negligence,” Justice Elkaim said.
The judge said Jones had been in custody since December last year for the crime and had a “truly tragic background”.
Taking into account the time Jones had already served, Justice Elkaim sentenced her to a total three years’ prison, but suspended the sentence from Wednesday upon her entering into an 18-month good behaviour order.
Melanie Jones committed the robbery on December 12, 2019. Picture: Karleen Minney
