By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A man accused of a spate of sub-$100 purchases with stolen credit-cards at Pakenham servos and supermarkets has been refused bail.
Ricky Desmond Proctor, 45, of Pakenham, had denied stealing the cards from wallets and purses left in their owner’s cars, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court was told on 27 February.
The court heard in one case, a thief had stolen a wallet after rifling through aVW Passat in a home garage on 16 December.
Early the next morning, Proctor had allegedly visited four businesses and spent more than $700 in 10 transactions on four of the owner’s cards.
“All I know is I used the cards,” Proctor allegedly told police.
“I got them off a mate and used them … I didn’t do no burg.”
On 20 December, police allegedly found Proctor slumped inside a vehicle outside a Pakenham unit.
Inside the car, police discovered five stolen credit and debit cards as well as two cards with unidentified owners.
Proctor allegedly admitted to stealing two of the cards and spent more than $500 on items such as cigarettes and mobile phone credit.
The other cards came from an un-named associate, he allegedly told police.
He was also charged with stealing a $10,000 Mazda sedan from a Pakenham residence on 5 January, and used stolen credit-cards to buy more than $200 of cigarettes, fuel, phone top-up credit and a Visa gift card.
Police informant Senior Constable Gordon Exeter told the court the unemployed Proctor was “couch-surfing with criminal associates” and had no stable bail address.
He said the offer to live with a close relative in Bairnsdale would take Proctor away from rehabilitative CISP bail services.
Defence lawyer Emanuele Nicolosi said Proctor – having detoxed for six weeks in remand – was ready to engage with services for long-standing alcohol, cannabis and methamphetamine abuse and mental illness.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen, in refusing bail, said Proctor had an “incredible prior history” of more than 300 offences since 1989 – including 26 while on a drug treatment order in 2015.
“I can’t find a time when he’s complied with a court order,” Mr Vandersteen said.
“He’s just going to go out and re-offend. That’s what he’ll do.”
Mr Vandersteen said the prosecution case, supported by CCTV footage identifying Proctor during some of the credit-card transactions, was very strong.
Proctor was remanded to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 15 March.
