A former Warrnambool man who drove without a licence and stole from a commercial business while on bail has had four months slashed off his jail sentence on appeal.
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Robert Chatfield, also known as Robert Kardum, 30, now of Noble Park, was jailed for seven months in March after he pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to driving while disqualified, theft, trespass and committing an indictable offence on bail.
On Wednesday, he successfully appealed against the severity of the sentence in the Melbourne County Court.
Judge Scott Johns re-sentenced the man to three months and 14 days' jail.
The charges related to an incident on October 14 last year when a woman was at her Purnim home when she heard her dogs bark and Chatfield arrived in a silver BMW.
They had a conversation and a police highway patrol unit officer drove past.
The man saw the vehicle and fled out through a back paddock.
Police found that the BMW had been involved in a number of evading police incidents in Warrnambool during the previous couple of days.
The vehicle was impounded and the driver was found to be a disqualified P-plater.
Then in March this year, Chatfield attended Apco Service Station on Raglan Parade at 1.20am and asked if he could buy a car battery.
There was none available so the man left his name and phone number with a store attendant.
An hour later he jumped the fence of Matko Hire, located about two stores up from service station, and stole a battery from a scissor lift.
The battery was worth $200.
The theft was captured on CCTV.
Chatfield attended Warrnambool police station by appointment and was subsequently arrested.
Lawyer Xavier Farrelly told the Magistrates Court in March that his client stole the battery to help jump start a friend's car.
"It wasn't a bright idea considering there was footage at both places (Apco and Matko Hire)," he said.
Mr Farrelly said Chatfield had an extensive criminal history but had recently got his life back on track and had remained abstinent from drugs.
He said his client was cooperative with police and remorseful.
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