By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Doveton teen who was Covid-positive took part in a violent home invasion in front of a terrified mother and two young kids, a court heard.
Moses Laula, 18, followed in a co-offender who kicked-in and shattered a lounge room window in front of the family in Cranbourne North about 10.10am on 6 August, 2020.
“Give me your phone or I’ll stab your kid,” the co-offender demanded as he looked at her six-year-old daughter.
The co-offender – who can’t be identified – pushed the mother repeatedly and demanded her car keys while wielding a kitchen knife, the court heard.
The mother, who tried to shield her children, pointed out the keys in the garage.
The co-offender, with Laula in the passenger seat, drove off in her 2010 black Commodore station wagon.
When police arrived, they found the mother “visibly shaking, crying and extremely frightened”, County Court of Victoria judge Kevin Doyle noted.
She felt lasting, substantial effects – she no longer felt she and her children were safe at home.
The stolen car, written off during a police chase later that morning, was “irreplaceable” to her, Judge Doyle said.
Laula and his accomplice had worn black hoodies and blue surgical masks – though Judge Doyle said it was unlikely to be in order to follow Covid health guidelines.
The pair were 17 kilometres from Laula’s home, defying the stay-at-home and five-kilometre limit as part of Melbourne’s stage-4 lockdown.
Laula was on bail at the time.
The co-offender, with Laula aboard, wove the stolen station wagon through traffic at up to 180km/h on the Princes Freeway near Pakenham.
The station wagon rammed into the back of an unmarked police car at about 80km/h, causing it to spin and crash into a concrete barrier.
The police car was damaged beyond repair, with a police officer taken to Dandenong Hospital by ambulance.
At about 140km/h, the wagon drove over a tyre-deflation device on the off-ramp to Clyde Road. It crashed into two cars as it tried to overtake on the wrong side of Clyde Road.
It came to a halt, crashing into two parked cars at Eden Rise Village shopping centre.
As Laula got out, his arm was attacked by a police dog. He was arrested and taken to The Alfred hospital for surgery for the bite wounds.
In hospital, it was discovered he was Covid-positive.
Laula pleaded guilty to home invasion and the theft of the car keys and car, as well as breaching bail and Covid-19 directions.
In sentencing on 11 June, Judge Doyle noted Laula “hung back”, while his accomplice played a “major role”.
The refugee was born in Cairo after his family fled from civil war in South Sudan. They migrated to Australia when he was three.
In his teens, the former St Anthony’s Primary and St John’s Regional College student fell into daily alcohol and cannabis use with a “negative peer group”.
On weekends, he used Xanax, cocaine and MDMA.
During Covid-19, he had lost contact with Youth Justice workers.
Laula had “positive” rehabilitation prospects, but it hinged on him steering away from negative peers and drugs, Judge Doyle said.
He was sentenced to up to 26 months in a youth justice centre.
His term includes 163 days in pre-sentence detention.
