By Cam Lucadou-Wells
An Emerald ice user who pleaded guilty to a spate of drug and dishonesty charges, including a Dandenong South factory break-in, has been described by a judge as “becoming a pest”.
On 2 April, Andrew Mackenzie, 31, had driven a borrowed Triton ute through a cut portion of cyclone fencing at the Mamara Halal Meats storage factory, according to a police brief.
Mackenzie and three passengers then removed up to 30 metres of copper cabling from refrigerators inside an open shed.
They were arrested at the scene with a large number of tools, a bottle of liquid suspected to be the drug 1, 4 butanediol and two stolen laptops found inside the ute.
In his police interview, Mackenzie denied all wrong-doing. He said he was “having a bit of fun with another guy and girl” at the site, and made reference to a used condom found in his pants by police.
He told police he had an engineer scribe and spring-loaded centre punch in his pockets because he bought them from Bunnings that day.
All up, Mackenzie faced more than 20 offences including possession of illicit drugs, theft of a vehicle, theft of number plates, a petrol drive-off and driving while suspended between March and July.
They were described as escalating in frequency, if not at the “high end” of seriousness by magistrate Jack Vandersteen at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 7 August.
“He’s becoming a pest.
“You can see how rapidly the pace picked up,” he said.
Mackenzie had been in remand since he was arrested with more than 500 prescription pills in a car with stolen number plates and a stolen school laptop in Dandenong on 22 July.
Mr Vandersteen noted the accused’s diagnosed depression and his use of the “insidious” drug ice over four years.
Mackenzie was jailed for 22 days – which was already served in remand – as well as a 12-month supervised community correction order including drug and mental health therapy.
The accused would be “relatively detoxed” after spending his first stint in remand custody, Mr Vandersteen said.
Mackenzie’s drivers’ licence was disqualified for nine months and he was required to give a DNA sample to police.
