Vic: High performance teenage car thief faces court
By Nick Lenaghan
MELBOURNE, Dec 18 AAP - A teenage heroin user stole at least 72 cars worth more than$3 million, prompting a dozen police pursuits across Melbourne, a court was told today.
Jarrod Cincotta, 18, formerly of Epping, is facing 35 charges including theft, arson,assault and kidnapping over the six-month spree, Melbourne Magistrates Court was told
today.
But Cincotta could face 100 more charges when police finish compiling the "snowballing"
brief against him, the court heard.
Detective Senior Constable Brett Florence told a bail hearing Cincotta and a 20-year-oldfriend, who is in jail on other charges, specialised in taking prestige and high-performancelate-model cars.
The late model Fords, Monaros, Mercedes, Porsches and BMWs the pair allegedly tookwere worth more than $3 million.
It is also alleged that they stole the latest model Holden before it had been publicly released.
The cars combined with other household items they also stole were worth $4 million,the court heard.
One Jaguar worth $220,000 was later allegedly recovered with $100,000 worth of damage,while most of the cars were taken from service stations, at airports and car dealerships.
Since May, Cincotta and his partner have led police on 12 high speed pursuits throughMelbourne which were called off due to the danger, the court heard.
The pair were allegedly clocked at up 200kph on freeways, and up to 160kph on majorroads often jumping median strips to elude capture, causing traffic chaos.
Det Florence said Cincotta stole a car at a Taylors Lakes service station in Augustwhen a woman had gone to pay for petrol.
She was forced to leap to safety as Cincotta sped off with her nine-year-old daughterin the back seat, dumping the child one kilometre away.
In one alleged road rage incident, Cincotta chased a car through Melbourne's northernsuburbs before catching up with it in Preston, smashing it with bats and then attemptingto assault the occupants, the detective said.
Cincotta had a place in a private rehabilitation centre if he were freed, althoughhe had been monitored in prison phone calls telling a friend he wanted to get out of jailto get more heroin, the court heard.
After escaping from youth detention in October last year Cincotta had been chased bypolice dogs through bushland before stealing a van and fleeing, the court heard.
Magistrate Barbara Cotterell refused bail, citing the need to protect the public shouldCincotta abandon the rehabilitation program.
"All he's got to do is walk out, get in a car and the public is again in danger," MsCotterell said.
Cincotta is due to appear in the same court again on April 3 next year.
AAP nl/clr/cjh/de
KEYWORD: CINCOTTA
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