A former Wangaratta man has avoided jail time after attempting to steal a car from a man he had met on a dating app. The 20-year-old appeared at Melbourne County Court on 18 September to hear his sentence, which would involve 150 hours of unpaid community work on a two-year community corrections order. The court heard on 2 September 2025, the accused and the victim matched on online dating app Grindr. Both were using the app anonymously but had sent photos of their faces to each other. They agreed to meet and the accused told the victim to pick him up from a Shepparton address. As the victim arrived, the accused immediately jumped in the car with a hood concealing his face and told the victim to be driven to the lake. The victim described the accused as agitated, fidgety and demanding during the drive and didn’t know who he was until he was told to stop and get in the backseat with him. The accused demanded the victim to unlock the boot. The victim got back in the driver’s seat and pretended to press the boot release button and started the ignition as the accused climbed out of the car. The accused jumped back in and put the victim in a chokehold shouting “give me your f***ing car, c***!”. The victim felt the accused press something sharp against his neck and face when he was grabbed around the neck a second time, but was able to push the accused out of the car and drive off. The victim attended the local hospital where he was assessed for lacerations on his ear and hand. Police arrested the accused and took him to the Wangaratta police station on 23 September 2025 where he made a number of admissions. Officers found a message on his Instagram account sent to an unknown user, which said he “did stab someone” and “tried to steal his car”. He pleaded guilty to an aggravated attempted carjacking charge and to offending while on bail. Judge Peter Rozen said the victim was taken advantage of by the accused and “no doubt” found the incident frightening and distressing. “He was unassuming and relatively vulnerable during your aggravated and unprovoked attack,” he said. The court heard the accused had experienced alienation and disconnection from family, community and culture since infancy. He was under the influence of alcohol during the incident and had a history of offending while drinking. Since the incident, the court heard the man had moved from Wangaratta to Warrnambool, recognising the negative impact of his social group and had spent three days in custody. Prosecution submitted for a combination sentence which would involve jail time, but Judge Rozen found a return to custody would diminish the accused’s attempts at rehabilitation. As part of the order, the man was ordered to participate in drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
