Police Beat: charges reissued for Morgan killing
Police Beat with Aidan Knight
Hit and run
A MAN was arrested following a hit-run collision in Morwell on Saturday (February 28).
Emergency services were called to the intersection of Princes Drive and Bridle Road about 5.30pm, where a Toyota Hilux ute and a Mazda sedan had collided.
The driver of the sedan was airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police allege the driver of the ute fled the scene and was arrested at a nearby hotel about 7pm. He was taken to hospital under police guard.
Inquiries remain ongoing.
Charges reissued
Warning: This story contains the name of an Aboriginal man who has died.
The investigation into the killing of Morwell teenager Kaiden Morgan has taken another turn, with police reissuing murder charges against a previously released suspect.
A 19-year-old Traralgon man – who was released in November after charges were initially dropped – has now been recharged with murder and intentionally causing serious injury. He has faced court again as detectives continue to investigate the September killing.
Two other youths remain before the courts in relation to the case, including a 16-year-old, apprehended shortly after the murder and an 18-year-old arrested in Bendigo last December.
Suspended driver arrested in Moe
A MOE man with seven outstanding warrants was arrested after being caught driving while suspended on Friday, February 20.
Police intercepted the 52-year-old on Fowler Street while conducting patrols as part of Operation Halo around 3pm. Officers confirmed the man was driving on a suspended licence and had multiple warrants, most relating to previous driving matters.
He was arrested and charged and is expected to face court in April.
His vehicle was impounded for 30 days at a cost of $1291.
Operation Halo is a proactive policing effort aimed at reducing road trauma in the Moe area.
Shopping centre stabbing
THREE 14-year-old boys, including one from the Latrobe area, have been arrested following an alleged stabbing at Fountain Gate Shopping Centre.
It is believed an altercation occurred between a group of boys on Thursday, February 12 around 4pm.
The victim, a 14-year-old boy, was located with a stab wound and taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Three 14-year-old boys from the Worri Yallock, Latrobe and Casey areas have been interviewed for affray and intentionally cause serious injury.
The boy from Latrobe has been charged with intentionally causing serious injury, affray and possess controlled weapon, and has been remanded to appear at a children’s court at a later date.
The other two boys were released pending summons.
It is believed the parties are known to one another.
Heyfield drug bust
POLICE seized a large quantity of drugs from a Heyfield property on Tuesday, February 10.
Heyfield and Maffra police executed a search warrant at the residential property, and located and seized a large quantity of cannabis and other drugs along with a mobile phone and cash which was also seized.
A 57-year-old Heyfield woman was arrested and interviewed and has been charged with trafficking a drug of dependence and other offences.
She was bailed to appear at the Sale Magistrates’ Court at a later date.
Cent-less act
A MORWELL resident was left short-changed after a dubious thief stole his prized coin collection at a garage sale.
Ken Jenkins, a local numismatist, was duped out of a 2000-coin collection of 50 cent pieces when hosting a garage sale last December.
The alleged thief approached Mr Jenkins at his property and introduced himself as “Bruno”. Mr Jenkins informed him that he could take anything that he hadn’t managed to sell during the sale, but “not the personal stuff in my shed”.
“I gave him heaps,” the Morwell man told the Express, who listed off a range of items that included pressure washers and tools.
Bruno allegedly told Mr Jenkins that another man browsing his yard was a known thief, and to “watch him”, so while the owner of the property did so, Bruno helped himself to some of the coin collection.
“Lucky for me, he didn’t find all of it, as I’m a collector of money from Australia as well as the world,” Mr Jenkins said.
The thief was described as average height and dark complexion, early 30s in age, with dark hair. He was driving a four wheel drive with a canopy on the day, towing a large caged trailer.