A Sydney man stole a nursing home mini bus at a petrol station and ran over its driver as the victim to tried to stop him, a court has heard.
Kieron Almond, 31, was sentenced in Waverley Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to five charges which were taking and driving a conveyance without consent, causing bodily harm by misconduct, not giving particulars to an injured person, failing to assist after impact causing injury and driving during a disqualification period.
The incident happened in August last year in broad daylight while the victim was filling up his company’s vehicle at a Maroubra petrol station.
The driver — who was employed by Sir Moses Montefiore Jewish Home also in Randwick — left the keys in the ignition while he went to pay and when he returned, Mr Almond was in the process of stealing the vehicle.
Although the driver stood in front of the mini bus to block his escape, Mr Almond was not deterred and instead “ran over” the man as he sped away.
The victim suffered a possible injury to his foot causing him “pain” and a scraped elbow.
Magistrate Ross Hudson deemed that the crime deserved jail time because the accused was too much of a risk to public safety given that he had an “array of different victims in his record”.
He refused an application by the defence to deal with the case under mental health legislation.
“I ask rhetorically who is the next victim?” the magistrate added. “I ask who is the next victim looking at his record? There is a future dangerousness.”
Mr Almond was picked up by police within a day of the incident and has been in custody ever since then.
Court documents show he asked the arresting officers “Did the guy get hurt? Cos (sic) there’s rules around it. I’m not allowed to hurt anyone, I can’t drive the car towards anyone.”
Mr Almond wasn’t meant to get behind the wheel of a car until January 2026 because his licence had been suspended.
He was diagnosed with a schizo-affective disorder in his late teens and suffers from delusions including that he has been raped.
Mr Almond’s defence argued that because of his long history of drug abuse and mental illness he should serve out his sentence at a facility that would treat him for his problems.
They also painted a tragic picture of his upbringing, describing how he was taken into his grandma’s care from six weeks old, and he currently still lives with her.
His father died of an overdose when he was a child and his mother “has chronic addiction issues”, the defence said.
Magistrate Hudson ultimately denied the application to keep the troubled man out of jail.
“These matters are too serious,” he said.
The prosecutor added that Mr Almond’s “Drug use is significant” and that he started ingesting cannabis in his early teens.
His grandmother, who was watching from the courtroom, yelled out “that’s not true, that’s not true” at this point in the sentencing and the magistrate had to ask her to stop.
He had ice monthly from the age of 20 and it reached the point of having the drug every day because of his “outrageous addiction”, the magistrate added in his sentencing remarks.
Court documents listed that Mr Almond was unemployed although he has worked as a tyre fitter since the age of 16.
Mr Almond was sentenced to 14 months in jail with a non-parole period of eight months.
As he has been in custody since August, he only has two months left to serve of his eight month sentence until he will be eligible for parole.
He must not drive any vehicle for two years and must pay a $1000 fine.
On top of that, he will be on a community corrections order for two years following his release.