A Bendigo woman has pleaded guilty to ramming two cars at her then-partner’s property following an argument in which he damaged her vehicle.
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Jacobie Welsh, 25, was sentenced in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to a $1400 fine, with conviction.
Her licence was also cancelled and disqualified for 13 months, and she was ordered to pay $650 compensation to cover an insurance excess.
The court heard Welsh was drinking on the night of the incident and drove to the home of the victim – whom she’d had an on-again, off-again relationship with – because she believed her phone and keys were there.
The victim became angry and slammed his hand down on the wing mirror of the car, breaking it.
This angered Welsh, who reversed her car into the man’s car before returning to her North Bendigo home.
She sent the man a text message that said “I’ll be back to smash up your other car”, then returned to his home and rammed a car belonging to his grandfather.
The cars, worth almost $10,400 in total, were written off.
Welsh later underwent a breath test at the police station and returned a reading of 0.136. Her vehicle was impounded.
She made full admissions to police about damaging the cars and told them she was angry the man had broken her car, so she decided to break his.
Welsh had no criminal history prior to the incident.
Her defence lawyer Nicholas Rolfe said his client and the victim had two arguments at her home the day of the incident, and he returned to her house the last time that day telling her he was going to take her phone and keys.
Mr Rolfe said Welsh was incensed because she believed the man had taken her phone. He asked the court to consider her lack of history and "a good degree of provocation".
Magistrate Patrick Southey took into account Welsh’s guilty plea in sentencing her.
“You’ve never been in trouble, it was just a one-off loss of control, is that right?” Mr Southey said.
“You’ll end up in jail if it happens again, it’s an alarmingly serious incident.”