“How you’ve not killed anyone, or yourself, to date is beyond me.”

Those were the words of a magistrate as she jailed a Shepparton man on 37 charges, including ones for robbing a taxi driver, and stealing $32,000 from an elderly man’s bank account.

The sentence follows a drawn-out court process that started when Lenard Weston, 23, pleaded guilty to the majority of the charges in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court in January.

He was to have been sentenced in March, but when that time came, the court was told he was in custody in NSW.

Before he was able to be sentenced, Weston had another two charges added for offences in May.

Weston pleaded guilty to charges including assault, aggravated burglary, two counts of theft, driving in a dangerous manner, failing to stop on police direction, five of vehicle theft, and possessing a controlled weapon.

Back in January, the court was told Weston stole a taxi driver’s wallet containing $900 cash while he was meant to be in court on September 20, 2024.

On that occasion, another man Weston was with punched the driver in the back of the neck and head three times before Weston stole his wallet.

On a separate occasion, Weston broke into a 90-year-old man’s Mooroopna house at about 5.50am on September 21, 2023.

He stole the victim’s phone and wallet, with the victim discovering about $32,000 had been transferred out of his bank account into four different accounts.

Despite his bank cancelling some of the transactions, he lost $14,100.

Weston’s offences also included stealing a phone and Apple Watch on August 9, 2023 after telling the victim to “give me your phone or I will kill you”.

He also stole a Mazda CX5 from Goulburn Valley Health on April 11, 2024, and then drove it at a fast speed in a 60km/h zone without headlights on, and didn’t stop when police tried to pull him over in Shepparton.

He also pleaded guilty to vehicle theft after stealing a Holden Commodore from a Benalla Rd business in Shepparton on August 26, 2024.

He was also one of three people found in a stolen Toyota HiLux in Kialla on October 24, 2024.

Police found several bags of methamphetamines in Weston’s wallet and seven guns in the HiLux; however, Weston wasn’t charged over possession of the guns.

On another occasion he had a hunting knife and axe after being pulled over on Sunbury Rd, Shepparton on July 2, 2024.

In yet another vehicle theft, Weston stole a Toyota RAV4 from a Nathalia property on April 4, 2023.

Back in January, Weston’s defence counsel acknowledged the taxi driver his client stole from would’ve been “traumatised”, but noted he had no serious injuries.

He told the court Weston had substance abuse issues and had experienced homelessness throughout his childhood.

He said when Weston was released, he would move in with his uncle, who has a “prosocial influence”.

In late August, Weston again appeared in court, when more charges were added from 2025.

These included for stealing a Toyota HiLux and attempting to steal a Toyota LandCruiser on April 3, 2025.

He sped off on police when they spotted him in Mooroopna, before the vehicle was abandoned.

Police found him hiding in a roof cavity of a Shepparton house on April 27.

Defence solicitor Geoff Clancy told the court his client had a “dreadful upbringing”.

When Weston was sentenced on December 8, magistrate Victoria Campbell said she accepted his life had been incredibly difficult.

However, she said she was not satisfied that he was willing, or able to, complete a community corrections order, instead sentencing him to 18 months in prison, with a non-parole period of 12 months.

The 408 days he has already served in pre-sentence detention are counted as already served, meaning he can now apply for parole.

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Sunday, 14th December 2025

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