Gun held as man beaten in Shepparton carjacking, court hears

He is charged with aggravated carjacking, assault, intentionally causing injury, possessing a firearm while a prohibited person, affray, and failing to provide access to a data storage device.

Shepparton Crime Investigation Unit Senior Constable Anthony De Cicco told the court police discovered messages between Mr O’Donnell and a man from the Melbourne suburb of Truganina when police seized the Truganina man’s phone during a search warrant on May 31.

The messages spoke of “a mad earn” of $100,000 worth of gear, including a Ducati motorbike, cash and “pot” and the need for a “Rosco” — which police say refers to a gun — to get someone to open a safe, Sen Constable De Cicco said.

The court was told the victim was lured to a woman’s Shepparton house on April 29 where he was confronted by three masked men wielding baseball bats or metal poles, and one of them also had a shotgun.

Police said all three of the men beat the victim with baseball bats or metal poles, with CCTV shown to the court showing 17 blows by one attacker.

The victim was hit in the legs, arms and head, and his leg was broken in the attack.

Sen Constable De Cicco said the man’s head injuries would have been “severe, if not lethal” if he was not wearing a motorbike helmet.

The three masked men wheeled the man’s Ducati motorbike off after failing to start it, and later dumped it in the street, Sen Constable De Cicco said.

They also took his backpack, which included a thermal camera and a laptop, the court heard.

Sen Constable De Cicco told the court Mr O’Donnell sent the Truganina man CCTV videos of the incident — including the one shown to the court — as well as a video of him holding the stolen thermal camera in his kitchen.

The court also heard Mr O’Donnell was on bail at the time for an assault outside a Shepparton hotel on June 27.

When interviewed over the April incident, Mr O’Donnell told police he was “home at the time”, Sen Constable De Cicco said.

Mr O’Donnell also told police “Rosco” referred to in the messages was an “associate’s uncle”.

The court also heard the victim had not made a statement about the incident “for fear of retribution”.

Mr O’Donnell’s solicitor Emma Gray said her client should be bailed for a combination of reasons.

She said there were “real triable issues” as to whether the prosecutors could identify the three masked men, and she said there was “limited evidence” as to whether the motorbike was actually stolen.

Ms Gray also said Mr O’Donnell was diagnosed with bipolar effective disorder and a personality disorder, and that doctors were working on a diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, and as such he would be a “vulnerable person in custody”.

She also said any incarceration would have a big impact on Mr O’Donnell’s partner, as he looked after one of the children three days a week while his partner worked.

Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Chris Cole, however, argued the prosecution case was strong, referencing the messages between Mr O’Donnell and the Truganina man, and said Mr O’Donnell was found with one of the items stolen from the victim.

He also noted that there were still “outstanding offenders” in this incident and that the gun had not been found.

Leading Sen Constable Cole also said Mr O’Donnell had been on bail at the time of the incident, and had not complied with court orders in the past.

Magistrate Allison Vaughan refused bail, saying while she was satisfied Mr O’Donnell had shown exceptional circumstances, she was not satisfied he was an acceptable risk to the community.

Ms Vaughan said that while the prosecution case was “circumstantial”, preliminary investigations included encrypted messages before and after the attack, seized items that were similar to what was taken, and phone analysis put Mr O’Donnell “in the vicinity”.

She also said that if he was found guilty, jail would be an option for the sentencing magistrate.

Mr O’Donnell will return to court in November.